The Council of Change
by ahsinam33
Summary: The YuruYuri characters have moved up a grade. Ayano is the new President but she and Chitose seem to be spending more and more time at the Amusement Club. Sakurako and Himawari end up with a lot of alone time in the Council room now as a result. Will World War III break out or will things finally change?
1. Her Knight in Not-So-Shining Armor

**Hello, everyone! I'm here today presenting you all with a multi-chapter fic… Well, the first chapter, that is.**

 **I don't normally write muti-chapter fics. They require a lot of time and commitment after all. But I'm writing this story as a request from** _ **Yuri no Tenshi**_ **. Well, I'm not sure I should call it a request. Actually,** _ **Yuri no Tenshi**_ **read the eight drabble of my other fic '** **YuruYuri Drabbles' when suddenly a story idea came to him. So he provided me with the idea which is basically the premise for this story. I'll talk about this more after the chapter.**

 **So without further ado, let's get on with the story. Welcome to 'The Council of Change'. Why is this the title? Because the lives of the members of the Student Council are slowly but surely going to change…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The Council of Change**

 **Chapter 1: Her Knight in Not-So-Shining Armor**

* * *

Himawari and Sakurako were rivals. At least that's what they made sure that everyone believed. It was the perfect answer for them to give to people who questioned why they argued so vehemently all the time. They were rivals; they both wanted to be the next vice-president of the Student Council. Of course they argued all the time.

However, things were a bit different now. Everyone had moved to the next grade and it had been two months since the elections were held. The two childhood friends couldn't be called rivals anymore. After all, Himawari had won; the blue haired girl was the new vice-president of the Student Council.

Sakurako was obviously annoyed but she found it hard to complain since Himawari got over double the number of votes that Sakurako received. It was pretty obvious that the students didn't think that Sakurako was fit for the job and so Sakurako couldn't do much but grumble about her defeat. Himawari and Sakurako still fought quite a bit but nowadays there were times when Sakurako actually tried _not_ to fight. She and Himawari weren't rivals anymore so Sakurako was worried that picking fights could cause people to think that she was being a sore loser. Normally, Sakurako wouldn't care what people thought but the election results had hurt her pride. She wanted her classmates to think better of her and then maybe she could be president the next year. Maybe.

Sakurako pouted. Who was she kidding? The vice-president always ended up as the next president. Sakurako didn't stand a chance.

"Is anything wrong, Sakurako?"

Sakurako looked up to see Himawari staring at her with an irritated look on her face.

"Nothing's wrong," Sakurako replied.

"Really? Then why don't you stop daydreaming and get some work done?"

Sakurako opened her mouth to shout out a retort but caught herself at the last moment. The exasperation in Himawari's voice was evident and Sakurako knew that she wasn't the reason behind it. Sakurako had only stopped organizing paperwork for about two minutes; Himawari wouldn't get angry just for that.

"Maybe I should ask _you_ what's wrong," Sakurako said. "You're awfully moody."

"Oh, shut up," Himawari snapped.

A vein popped in Sakurako's forehead. "Hey. I'm trying to be nice."

Himawari sighed loudly. "If you want to be nice then just be quiet and do your work."

Sakurako stared at Himawari for a while before deciding to just stop talking with her. Any further attempt at conversation would probably end up in a full-blown argument and then Sakurako would have to go home and do her homework by herself. That wasn't something she could afford to let happen. So Sakurako went back to organizing paperwork.

Ten minutes later, Sakurako let out a loud groan, shoved all the papers in front of her aside and lay her head on the table. "I'm done. Now I can finally take a break…"

Himawari said nothing in response. She didn't even look up from her work. Sakurako frowned; Himawari was becoming extremely boring nowadays. _More boring than she already was, that is…_

There was nobody else in the Student Council room other than the two of them. So being ignored by Himawari meant that Sakurako had nobody to talk to. For some reason, no new first years had joined the Council. They tried to recruit new members at the beginning of the year but it proved fruitless. The previous president Rise had graduated and so that meant that there were only four members in the Council now. The two older members were busy elsewhere at the moment so the room seemed rather lifeless.

Sakurako looked at the clock and frowned. "Sugiura-senpai and Ikeda-senpai have been gone for quite a while. Aren't they going to come back?"

"They went to collect Toshino-senpai's printout," Himawari said, her eyes still scanning the paper in her hands. "That's bound to take some time."

Sakurako didn't understand why Himawari was being so calm about the matter. "Sugiura-senpai is the president now. She shouldn't be playing around so much."

"Don't say stuff like that," Himawari chided. "You shouldn't bad-mouth our seniors."

"If I was the one slacking off so much then you'd be yelling at me every chance you got," Sakurako said. "Why is it okay if our seniors slack off?"

Himawari put down the paper she was reading. Himawari hesitated for a moment before she started speaking. "Sakurako… Sugiura-senpai went to see Toshino-senpai. Do you understand why?"

Sakurako furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "To collect her printout. What's there to understand?"

Himawari sighed. _I'm a fool for expecting anything more from this idiot._

"Now what's wrong?" Sakurako was confused. Why did Himawari suddenly seemed so disappointed in her?

"No… It's nothing. Forget about it."

Himawari began working again without a word. Sakurako blinked. She really didn't understand what Himawari was thinking.

"Well," Sakurako said. "Putting your weird questions aside, you really should say something to Sugiura-senpai."

"…Why?"

"Because you have to do all her work since she's always gone for so long."

Himawari froze. She slowly looked up at Sakurako who was wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression.

Himawari let out a nervous laugh. "What are you talking about, Sakurako? I don't do all her work. That's not possible."

"I'm not a complete moron, you know?"

Himawari grimaced. "Sakurako…"

"You're going to work yourself to death at this rate!" Sakurako exclaimed. "You do all your vice-president work and then you even do a lot of the president's work as well. Sugiura-senpai needs to spend less time at the Amusement Club and finish her work here."

Himawari was stunned. "Are you… worried about me?"

"Wha-?" Sakurako blushed heavily. "D-don't be crazy! I'm not worried about you at all! I-It's just that when you have to do so much work you get mad really easily and yell at me for no reason. That's all there is to it. Why would I be worried about you?"

Before Himawari could say anything in response, Sakurako quickly got up from her seat, grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. "I'm done for today. Finish up your work quickly and come over to my house. You'll be helping me with my homework."

Sakurako briskly walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. Himawari stared at the door in surprise for a while before deciding to hurry up and finish what she was supposed to do. A small smile graced her lips as she returned to her work.

* * *

The next morning, Himawari found herself having to walk to school alone. She had gone over to Sakurako's house in the morning as usual only to be informed by Nadeshiko that Sakurako had already left over an hour before. When Himawari asked why she had left so early, Nadeshiko shrugged; apparently Sakurako hadn't said anything. Sakurako hadn't mentioned anything to Himawari either when she had gone over to help with her homework the previous day.

Himawari let out a small sigh. _It's kind of lonely without her walking by my side. I had to walk home alone yesterday too…_

Himawari walked through the school gates and headed to the Student Council room. Unfortunately, dealing with Sakurako would have to wait until later. The blue haired girl had some Council work to finish before school started.

Himawari slid open the door of the Student Council room expecting to find an empty room; she was the only one who ever worked before school started. But today wasn't like other days. Himawari's eyes widened when she saw who was inside.

"Sa-Sakurako?"

Sakurako turned her head to look at Himawari. "Hey."

Himawari wasn't sure what was going on. Sakurako was sitting at the table with a few stacks of paper surrounding her. _Hey… Aren't those the papers I was supposed to work on?_

Sakurako stood up and gave her a proud smirk. "I'm going to be the next president!" she suddenly announced.

"…What?"

"I said that I'm going to be the next president," Sakurako said matter-of-factly. "And in order to make that happen, I, Sakurako-sama, have completed the vice-president's work. Surely everyone will realize my greatness and then they'll certainly vote for me next year!"

Himawari blinked. Sakurako didn't wait for her to say anything in response. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Sakurako walked over to the door and gently pushed Himawari into the hallway.

"Come on." Sakurako walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. "Let's go to class. There's no work for you to do here."

Sakurako briskly walked away towards the classroom. Himawari stared at her childhood friend's quickly receding form before walking quickly to catch up with Sakurako. Himawari said nothing but allowed a small smile to grace her features.

 _So you were worried about me after all… Thank you, Sakurako._

* * *

 **So, did you like the first chapter? I hope you did. Please let me know your honest views. Criticism is welcome; just no flames, please.**

 **Now I think I should elaborate on exactly what idea** _ **Yuri no Tenshi**_ **gave me.** **To put it shortly, his idea was that when Ayano becomes president the next year, she starts taking longer to pick up Kyoko's form and so Himawari ends up doing the president's work. Also, Himawari and Sakurako end up with a lot of alone time in the Student Council room. The purpose of this story is to explore how their relationship develops during these times.**

 **I'm writing a multi-chapter fic after many years so please bear with me. Updates won't be too fast but I won't abandon the story. I promise that.**

 **Okay then guys, read and review!**


	2. The Reason Why She's Here

**I'm finally back with another chapter! Sorry for taking so long but I have a bunch of extra classes at my university this month. I even have to attend classes on Saturday and Sunday…**

 **Oh well. Complaining isn't going to help. So let's get on with the story!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The Council of Change**

 **Chapter 2: The Reason Why She's Here**

* * *

A week had passed since Sakurako surprised Himawari by finishing her work before school started. Though Sakurako didn't do anything so grand again after that, Himawari was pleased to find Sakurako helping her out a bit everyday. However, this was _Sakurako_ after alland so accepting any help from her meant...

"Ugh... There's too much work! You should be grateful that I'm bothering to help you, Himawari."

Himawari let out a sigh. Her workload had reduced but the sheer amount of complaining she had to hear instead made the bluenette's head hurt.

"I know there's a lot of work, Sakurako. And I really do appreciate your helping me."

Sakurako nodded approvingly. "It's good that you're grateful. You're finally learning to appreciate my greatness."

Hoping to be able to avoid any further conversation and return to her work, Himawari ignored Sakurako's arrogance and picked up her pen. Sakurako wasn't finished talking though.

"I'm doing so much work," Sakurako said. "But I don't have any official position in the Student Council. Since I'm doing so much for you, I demand that I'm called the Assistant Vice-President from now on."

"Sure, sure… Now get back to work, Assistant Vice-President."

Sakurako grinned but her face fell mere seconds later. "Hey, wait a minute. Doesn't that make me _your_ assistant?"

"…I guess? Does it really matter?"

"Of course it matters!" Sakurako exclaimed. "There's no way I'm going to be your assistant. Don't ever call me Assistant Vice-President again."

Himawari facepalmed. "Sakurako…"

Sakurako slumped over the table. "Jeez… I have to work and work without any recognition. Why did I even join the Student Council?"

Himawari's head shot up. She stared at Sakurako for a while before saying, "That's actually a good question."

"Huh?" Sakurako looked up at Himawari with her head still resting on the table. "What question?"

"Why _did_ you join the Student Council?"

Sakurako blinked. "Uh... I wasn't being serious just now, you know? I don't actually regret joining the Student Council or anything."

"I understand that but I still want to know the reason."

Sakurako sat up and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't I tell you the reason last year? You forgot already?"

Himawari shook her head. "I didn't forget. You told me that you joined because I joined; that you didn't want to lose to me."

"If you know then why are you asking me?"

"That was your reason last year. But what about this year? You lost the election to me so your previous logic doesn't work because... Well, because you _already_ lost. So why did you join the Council this year?"

Sakurako grimaced. Being reminded of her bitter defeat did nothing but upset her. "You should be glad I joined. Or else you would have been completely alone in the Council room right now."

"Don't take it the wrong way, Sakurako. I'm not unhappy that you joined. I just want to know why."

Sakurako saw the determined and unwavering look on Himawari's face and realized that Himawari wasn't going to drop the topic until she got an answer. "I... Well... What other club could I join, Himawari?"

"Considering how lazy you are I would think that the 'Going Home Club' would be your preferred choice."

Sakurako's eyebrow twitched. "Hey. I'm helping you a lot nowadays so don't call me lazy." Sakurako huffed. "Putting your insults aside, going home would be too boring. I can't waste my youth by _not_ joining any club. Where's the fun in that?"

"That makes sense... But then why don't you join the Amusement Club? That club is all about having fun. It's not an official club but that never seems to be a problem. Also, I'm sure that Toshinou-senpai would welcome you with open arms."

Sakurako imagined herself being a member of the Amusement Club for a while before breaking into a wide grin. "That would be great, wouldn't it? Every day after school I'd be able to play, eat snacks and have a ton of fun! It would be a blast! And Toshinou-senpai is amazing. I'd be able to learn a lot of cool things from her if I joined the Amusement Club. Maybe I'd become her apprentice or something."

Sakurako giggled at the thought. Himawari always loved to hear Sakurako laugh, provided the girl wasn't laughing at Himawari or laughing haughtily when she was in 'Sakurako-sama mode'. Sakurako's current laughter wasn't due to any annoying reasons; she was simply giggling with glee. But Himawari didn't feel happy. Instead, she could feel her heart clench uncomfortably.

 _Sakurako isn't going to leave the Student Council, is she? Oh… What have I done?_

Sakurako noticed Himawari's sullen expression and frowned. "What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?"

"Huh? O-Oh… No, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering if… if you're…"

Sakurako furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Himawari didn't normally stutter so much.

"Are you going to join the Amusement Club now?" Himawari blurted out.

Sakurako looked at Himawari as though the bluenette was crazy. "What? Of course not. If I wanted to join the Amusement Club, I could have joined a long time ago. Why would I go now?"

Now Himawari was the one who was confused. "But… You just said that you'd have a lot of fun if you joined. Even I think that the Amusement Club… suits you."

Sakurako leaned back in her chair and looked up at the ceiling, suddenly lost in thought. "Yeah, you're right. The Amusement Club suits me better…" she softly said. "But you're in the Student Council so it makes sense for me to be here with you. It feels wrong if we're not together..."

Himawari's eyes widened. Had she misheard or something? "Wh-What? You…"

Sakurako slowly became beet red when she realized what exactly she had just said. She looked at Himawari with a rather ferocious expression and stated, "You heard wrong."

"Huh?"

"I said that you heard wrong!"

"What? I didn't even say anything. How do you know that I heard wrong?"

"I just do. Because I'm the great Sakurako-sama!"

"That doesn't make any sense."

Sakurako laughed. "Of course it doesn't make any sense to you. That's because you're an idiot!"

"Wha-? Oh my god… Why do I even bother to talk with you?"

"Don't talk to me then. Let's just get back to work."

"Yes. Let's."

Five minutes later, Ayano and Chitose came back from their visit to the Amusement Club only to find both Himawari and Sakurako blushing furiously while they organized paperwork.

Ayano raised an eyebrow and looked at Chitose. "Should we ask?"

Chitose shook her head. "I think it's better not to."

Ayano looked at her two juniors before letting out a small sigh. "Yeah… You're probably right."

* * *

 **Ayano and Chitose know better than to get too involved in the two tsunderes' private matters. Even though they're both probably curious as to what happened while they were away. The idea of Himawari and Sakurako scanning a bunch of papers while both of them are blushing like crazy is one that I find absolutely hilarious. What about you guys?**

 **Everybody, read and review!** **Reviews really make my day.**


	3. Maturity

**I present to you the third chapter of this story. My update schedule seems to be one chapter every two weeks…**

 **The chapter turned out a bit longer than I expected but that's probably not a bad thing, is it?**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The Council of Change**

 **Chapter 3: Maturity**

* * *

"Finished!"

Himawari smiled as she looked at the stack of papers in front of her. She was done with those papers and the subsequent feeling of satisfaction was quite an incredible feeling indeed.

"What about you, Sakurako? Are you almost done too?"

Sakurako was hard at work. She continued to scribble on the form she was filling out without looking up. "Almost... Just a bit more... And now I'm done!"

Himawari chuckled as Sakurako capped her pen and put it on the table as far away from her as she could. Sakurako pushed the form away from her as well and let out a contented sigh. "I'm finally done. That was pretty tiring."

"Yes, it most certainly was." Himawari took a look at the clock and gasped. "Seriously? It's only been an hour? We never finish that fast!"

Sakurako looked at the clock and smirked. "This is a new record. And it's just the two of us working so that means that we finished everything so quickly because of the prowess of the great Sakurako-sama!"

Himawari gave Sakurako a look that clearly said that she wasn't amused. Sakurako flinched.

"Uh... I mean... Thank you for your hard work, Himawari."

Himawari nodded in approval. "That's better."

Sakurako grinned. Himawari looked at the clock again in disbelief. How exactly had they managed to complete their work so quickly? Was the clock broken or something? A quick glance at her cellphone told Himawari that it wasn't.

"Wait a minute... You didn't talk to me at all in the past hour, did you, Sakurako?"

"I guess not," Sakurako replied. "I really wanted to fill out those forms and be done with it and talking just makes this stuff take longer. So I figured it would be better to keep my mouth shut."

"So _that's_ why we're done so early today. You didn't procrastinate and you didn't distract me either. That's... unexpected. You never focus on anything for that long."

"Yeah... But what needs to be done needs to be done. There's not much point in delaying it."

Himawari looked at Sakurako in surprise. Sakurako raised an eyebrow.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Himawari shook her head. "Nothing. It's just... You've matured a lot, Sakurako."

Now it was Sakurako's turn to be surprised. "Really? You think so?"

"Yes. You still have a long way to go but you're a lot more mature than last year."

A light blush dusted Sakurako's cheeks. "Thanks," she said softly.

"It's the truth." Himawari stood up and gathered the papers in her arms. "I'm going to go and give these to the teacher."

Sakurako stood up as well. "Yeah. Let's go."

Himawari shook her head."No, you don't have to come with me. You've helped me a lot already so just wait for me here. And this was supposed to be the vice president's work in the first place. I didn't do all the work myself so the least I could do is deliver these papers to the staffroom."

"OK." Sakurako walked over to the door and slid it open. "Go. I'll wait here."

Himawari raised her eyebrows. "You're opening the door for me? You really have matured."

Himawari walked out of the room leaving Sakurako stunned; it wasn't everyday that the bluenette praised her. Sakurako closed the door and went back to her seat.

 _You've matured a lot, Sakurako._

Sakurako closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She thought back to the day the election results were announced; the day when she was forced to grow up even if only just a little.

* * *

 _The day Sakurako had been waiting for had finally arrived. The election results were to be announced in a few minutes and then she could laugh at her busty rival as much as she wanted. Sakurako planned to_ _gloat about her grand victory_ _for many_ _months to come._ _Just a few more minutes and she would be the proud vice-president of the Student Council!_

 _Ayano paced back and forth_ _. It was obvious even to Sakurako how nervous she was. She felt that Ayano was worrying needlessly though. Her violet-haired senpai was going to be the next president for sure. Who else could possibly win?_

" _You should be more confident, Sugiura-senpai."_

 _Ayano stopped pacing to look at Sakurako. "What?"_

 _Sakurako smiled. "You're going to win. Don't worry. And I'm going to be your vice-president. We'll make a great team!"_

 _Sakurako turned to look at Himawari but her rival didn't say or do anything in response. She simply continued to stand calmly and quietly, waiting for the election results to be pinned on the notice board. Sakurako frowned. Where was the fun in that?_

" _You'll be fine, Ayano-chan!" Chitose smiled warmly at Ayano who smiled back._

" _I hope so," said Ayano._

 _A teacher made his way through the crowd with a_ _rolled up piece of paper_ _in his hand. He reached the notice board, silently pinned the paper_ _on_ _the board and walked away without a word. All the students crowded around the board eager to know who had won._

 _Ayano breathed a sigh of relief after looking at the results. She was the new president._

 _A blond girl suddenly ran over to Ayano and pounced on her, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Congratulations, Ayano!"_

" _To-Toshinou Kyouko?!"_

 _Kyouko pulled away and smiled brightly at the madly blushing girl before her. "You're the new president! Congratulations! I knew you could do it."_

" _Huh? O-Oh. Th-Thanks."_

 _Chitose took off her glasses and moments later blood started flowing from her nose. Chaos erupted with Ayano running around to find some tissues to help her friend and Kyouko shaking Chitose in an attempt to bring her back to reality._

 _Sakurako barely_ _acknowledged_ _everything that was happening around her. She simply hung her head and stared at the floor. The election results were_ _seared into her mind_ _; she had lost. Himawari was the new vice-president. And Sakurako knew that there hadn't been a counting mistake or anything of the sort. The overwhelming difference in the number of votes that she and Himawari had received made that obvious. It also made something else obvious; Himawari was a lot more eligible for the position than she could ever_ _hope to be_ _._

 _Sakurako felt embarrassed. She had been so confident of her own greatness. She had been sure that she would_ _win, that she_ _would easily defeat her childhood friend. But now she just felt stupid. Honestly, what was she thinking? She couldn't even do her homework by herself. Of course she had lost._

" _Sakurako? Are you alright?"_

 _Sakurako_ _broke out of her trance_ _and looked up. It was Himawari who was calling her, concern_ _written_ _all over her face. Himawari was supposed to be celebrating but here she was worrying over her instead._

 _Sakurako extended her hand. "Congratulations on your victory."_

 _Himawari hesitated a bit before_ _taking_ _Sakurako's hand and shaking it. "Thank you."_

 _Sakurako stood straight and then bowed. "It looks like I'll be in your care this year. Please take care of me."_

" _Huh? O-Ok. I mean, yes. Of course."_

 _Sakurako gave a_ _tight-lipped smile_ _and walked off, heading straight for home._

* * *

Sakurako sighed at the memory. It had taken her a few days to fully accept her loss. But in retrospect, her loss was probably for the best. It had helped her mature a bit and she now realized that she had to mature sooner or later. Why not start now?

Sakurako furrowed her eyebrows as a sudden thought hit her.

 _Hey, wait a minute. Where did Toshinou-senpai come from all of a sudden that day? Wasn't she supposed to be with the Amusement Club then? Did she ditch her club just so that she could see the election results? I didn't know she was that interested in who won. But why didn't the rest of the Amusement Club members come?_ _They could have all come together..._

Sakurako snapped out of her thoughts as the door to the Council room opened and Himawari walked inside.

"Come on, Sakurako. Let's go home."

"Yeah," Sakurako replied. "Let's go."

The two grabbed their bags, walked out of the room and headed down the hallway. Himawari suddenly stopped and turned to face Sakurako. "We should go to the Amusement Club first. We need to tell Sugiura-senpai and Ikeda-senpai that we're leaving."

"Oh, you're right. We should do that. We'll be able to see everyone else then too." Sakurako grinned and broke into a run. "Hurry up, Himawari!"

"Hey! Don't run in the hallways, Sakurako!"

Sakurako didn't listen and just laughed. Himawari let out a sigh. The sound of Sakurako's laughter made her smile a few moments later though. She hurried after her energetic childhood friend.

"Wait for me, Sakurako!"

* * *

 **We finally get to see some interaction between Ayano and Kyouko. I know it was only in a flashback but still. In the next chapter we'll be able to see some more of those two. Look forward to it!**

 **Everybody, read and review!** **Reviews really make my day.**


	4. The President's Affairs

**Sorry for the late update. I was… procrastinating. I did have a fever for two days but I can't really blame that much. I'm far too lazy…**

 **Also, once again, the chapter ended up longer than I expected. It's not** **much of a problem** **but it takes more time** **to write.** **Oh well. As long as you guys enjoy the story, I'm happy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The Council of Change**

 **Chapter 4: The President's Affairs**

* * *

Sakurako hummed happily as she and Himawari headed to the Amusement Club room. Himawari glanced sideways at her and smiled.

 _She's pretty happy about being able to see everyone. I should be happy too. It's rare for us to have enough time to be able to visit the Amusement Club. I honestly can't remember the last time I went to their club room._

The two soon reached their destination and Sakurako slid open the door with great force. "Sugiura Ayano!"

"Sakurako!" Himawari hissed.

Sakurako looked at her for a moment before turning back to face the room. "Sorry. I mean, Student Council President!"

Himawari facepalmed. She looked up to see that everyone in the room was laughing. Everyone except for their purple haired president, that is.

Ayano had a very troubled expression on her face. "I'm so sorry, Oomuro-san. I completely lost track of time. Let's go back to the Student Council room right now."

Himawari waved her hands in front of her. "No, no. We didn't come to call you back, Sugiura-senpai. We actually finished all our work early today. So we came to tell you that we're going back home."

"You finished everything already?" Ayano asked in disbelief.

Himawari nodded. "We even finished your portion of the work. You don't need to go back to the Council room today."

"Oh. That's... good." Ayano frowned. "I'm the Student Council president and you two are doing all the work. That's actually not good at all. I'm so sorry to burden you with so much work, Furutani-san."

"Please don't apologize, senpai. I'm the vice-president. It's my duty to assist you."

Ayano gave Himawari a strained smile. Himawari knew that Ayano was feeling guilty but Himawari was truly happy to help. She was fairly certain that her senpai had a crush on Kyouko so if a tiny bit of assistance on her part could allow the two to get closer then so be it. The bluenette sometimes wondered why someone as serious and responsible as Ayano fell for the boisterous and carefree Kyouko. However, considering how Himawari had fallen for someone who was just as troublesome, if not more, she knew that she was in no position to speak. In her opinion, the heart was illogical, unreasonable and simply insane. The heart wants what it wants. There really wasn't any point in trying to figure out exactly why people loved the people they did.

Himawari noticed that her six friends were broken off into pairs. Kyouko and Ayano were sitting on one side of the table working on what Himawari assumed to be Kyouko's doujins. Yui and Chitose were sitting on the other side of the table playing a card game. Akari and Chinatsu were sitting against the wall presumably chatting with each other.

 _It looks like Sugiura-senpai and Toshinou-senpai have gotten a lot closer. That's good to know._

Himawari turned to look at Sakurako intending to tell her that it was time to leave but she kept silent when she found that the girl was glaring at Ayano. She had seemed so happy just a few minutes before but all trace of that happiness had somehow managed to vanish.

Sakurako narrowed her eyes at Ayano. "You seem like you're having a lot of fun, Sugiura-senpai. You sure do play around a lot nowadays. You spend more time here than you do in the Council room. You really shouldn't-"

Himawari slapped her hand against Sakurako's mouth. There was no way she could allow Sakurako to say what she was going to say. It was obvious that Ayano already felt guilty. Himawari simply couldn't allow Sakurako to make her senpai feel even worse.

Ayano furrowed her eyebrows. "I really shouldn't what?"

Himawari laughed nervously. "You really shouldn't worry about anything. The two of us will take care of everything for you."

Sakurako pulled Himawari's hand off of her mouth and briefly glared at her. She then silently walked into the room and sat down on the floor in front of Akari and Chinatsu. "You two were chatting, weren't you? Mind if I join you?"

Himawari blinked. _Is she... mad at me? Why is she so bent on telling off Sugiura-senpai anyway? Is she upset over the extra work she has to do? Or is she worried about... me?_

Akari smiled brightly. "Of course you can join us, Sakurako-chan!"

"Thanks. So what were you talking about?"

"A café visit!"

"What?"

Chinatsu smiled at Akari's exuberance. "We were thinking of visiting that café that everyone in our class is talking about nowadays. Everyone says it's pretty good. And it's close to our school too."

Akari clasped her hands together. "Hey, why don't we all go there right now? It'll be really fun!"

"Yeah. Let's go now," Chinatsu said.

"Sure. I'll go too." Sakurako turned to look at Himawari. "What about you? Are you coming with us?"

"Huh? O-Oh. Yes, I will come with you guys." _Sakurako doesn't seem to be mad at me anymore..._

"Want to come with us, Kyouko-senpai?" Chinatsu asked.

Kyouko smiled apologetically. "Uh… I think I'll stay here and finish my doujin. The deadline is tomorrow so…"

"Really? Do you want Akari to stay and help you then, Kyouko-chan? Akari would be glad to help."

Kyouko waved her hands in front of her. "No, no, Akari. You don't have to stay back. Ayano is helping me. That should be enough help. You'll help me won't you, Ayano? You don't mind staying back, do you?"

Ayano blushed. "O-Of course not. I'll stay and help you."

Yui and Chitose shared a knowing look and put down their cards. Yui stood up. "The two of us will go with you guys. Let's leave quickly so that we don't disturb Kyouko and Ayano."

Kyouko reddened slightly and shot a glare at Yui. Yui snickered in response and Chitose giggled.

Chitose stood up and walked towards the door. "Let's go now. I have to grab my bag from the Student Council room first though."

Himawari looked down at the floor feeling slightly guilty. "Oh. We should have brought your bags."

"No, no, Furutani-san. That's not your duty. I'll go and get my bag. Why don't the rest of you wait near the school gate?"

"Yes. We'll wait there."

Everyone grabbed their bags and left the room. Before walking out the door, Yui smirked at Kyouko. "Enjoy yourselves."

Kyouko said nothing in response. She watched in silence as Yui closed the door to the room but the blonde was quite annoyed. _You're having too much fun teasing me, Yui. I'll get you back for this…_

"So… It's just the two of us now."

Kyouko snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Ayano's voice. "Y-Yeah. It's just us. Let's have fun!"

"We can't just concentrate on having fun, Toshinou Kyouko. There's a lot of work to do."

Kyouko laughed. "I know, I know. But I like spending time with you. So even if there's a lot of work, we're bound to have fun!"

Ayano smiled. "I suppose. But it's going to be a problem if we don't finish everything soon."

"Why?"

"...Because of your deadline?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Ayano. The deadline is next week. There's plenty of time."

Ayano narrowed her eyes at Kyouko. "Next week? You said the deadline was tomorrow."

Kyouko's eyes widened. "I… Actually, I… Uh…"

Ayano frowned. "You lied. Why did you lie?"

Kyouko looked at the ground, refusing to meet Ayano's eyes. She blushed and said softly, "It's like I said before. I like spending time with you."

"Wha-?" Ayano was stunned. "O-Oh. But… You didn't have to lie, you know? After all, I… I… I like spending time with you too."

Kyouko's head shot up. "Really?"

Ayano nodded. "Yes."

Kyouko beamed. "Then… Do you want to come over to my house to help me with the doujin?"

"Huh? Y-Yes. I'd like that."

"Really? It's not a problem?"

Ayano chuckled. "No, it's not a problem. You dragged me all the way to Comiket before. I don't see why it would be a problem to have to go to your house. I mean, your house is so much closer than Tokyo."

Kyouko stared at Ayano for a few moments before she burst out laughing. Ayano was surprised at first but she soon started laughing too.

The door to the room suddenly opened. "I brought you your bag, Ayano-chan. You won't have to go back to the Council roo... I'm sorry. Did I disturb you two?"

Ayano wiped a tear from her eye. "Don't worry, Chitose. You're not disturbing us. We're just laughing because... Toshinou Kyouko, why are we laughing again?"

Kyouko took a deep breath to calm herself down. "That doesn't really matter now does it? What matters is that we're going to a café with everyone!"

"Huh? Didn't you say we weren't going?"

"You said you'd come over to my house to help me out. So let's go to that café now and enjoy ourselves. You want to check out the new café too, don't you?"

"...Yes." Ayano smiled. "Let's go then, Toshinou Kyouko."

"You're going to her house, Ayano-chan? Hehehe..."

"Chitose!"

Fortunately, Kyouko managed to find a box of tissues in the club room.

* * *

 **I took a bit of a break from HimaSaku in this chapter. Don't worry though. KyoAya isn't the main pairing so we'll be back to HimaSaku soon enough. KyoAya will still feature in this story quite a bit though since the ship will actually play a huge role in the whole scheme of things… I can't spoil anything right now though, now can I?**

 **Look forward to the next chapter, everyone! Also, read and review.** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	5. Putting Two and Two Together

**Welcome to the fifth chapter, everybody! I think I'm going to stop fussing over my chapter lengths from now on because the chapters are just getting longer. I aimed for 1K words but this chapter is over 2K words; there's a lot I want to write. If you're optimistic, you can consider this to be two chapters updated at once. If you don't like that idea... Well, then you're not very optimistic, now are you? Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter** **5** **:** **Putting Two and Two Together**

* * *

It was just like any other day for the Student Council. All four members worked in silence but Sakurako knew that soon enough it would be just her and Himawari in the Council room.

Ayano sighed. "Everyone except Toshinou Kyouko submitted their printouts. Let's go, Chitose."

Sakurako rolled her eyes. _Just like always._

Ayano stood up. "Oomuro-san, Furutani-san, we'll be back soon."

Sakurako resisted the urge to groan. _Why bother saying that, senpai? We_ _all_ _know that you won't be back anytime soon._

Himawari smiled. "Go, senpai. The two of us will continue working."

Sakurako considered saying something in protest but before she could even open her mouth the door to the room suddenly opened.

"Sugiura Ayano!"

Ayano blinked. "Toshinou Kyouko? What are you doing here?"

Kyouko walked over to Ayano and handed her a paper. "I came here to give you my printout."

"Oh. I was about to go to your club room just now to take it."

Sakurako frowned. _Why does senpai sound so disappointed?_

Kyouko scratched the back of her head. "Yeah, I figured you'd do that. But my mom told me to get back home early today so I have to go back home now. You wouldn't find me in the club room so I thought I'd give you the printout myself before I left." Kyouko's eyes drifted to the clock and she gasped. "Oh, no! I don't have any time! Mom's going to get really angry if I'm late. Ayano, I have to leave now. Bye!"

With that, Kyouko dashed out of the room leaving everyone in the room quite stunned. Ayano stared at the door for a while before letting out a sigh and sitting down. She softly smiled. "That girl really is a whirlwind..."

Sakurako furrowed her eyebrows. _Toshinou-senpai actually came all the way to the Council room to give her printout. She was in such a hurry too. If she was that short_ _on time_ _then why didn't she just give the printout to someone in the Amusement Club? Sugiura-senpai could have collected it from them. She goes to their club room every day anyways. I don't understand Toshinou-senpai nowadays..._

"Is something wrong, Sakurako?"

Sakurako looked up at the sound of Himawari's voice and shook her head. "No. Nothing's wrong."

Sakurako silently returned to her work. With all four members working together, the Student Council finished all their work rather quickly that day.

* * *

The next day, completing everything took a little longer since Ayano was absent from school due to a cold. Three people was, however, better than just two and Chitose's help was greatly appreciated. Sakurako was happy that she didn't have to do any extra work and in the end, the Council finished everything they had to do early enough to be able to pay their sick president a visit.

As Chitose, Himawari and Sakurako walked down the road leading to Ayano's house, the bluenette looked at her white-haired senpai and asked, "Is it all right for all of us to go visit Sugiura-senpai? We won't be bothering her, will we?"

Chitose shook her head, her usual gentle smile on her face. "Don't worry. I messaged Ayano-chan. She knows that we're coming and she said that it's fine."

"Oh. That's good to know."

Sakurako said nothing during the journey and simply walked without a word. Her feelings towards Ayano were mixed. She was grateful for everything that Ayano had done for her the previous year. She still fondly remembered how many times Ayano had shared her pudding with her and the Student Council sleepover at her house was still a precious memory for Sakurako. But lately, Ayano's sheer irresponsibility annoyed Sakurako to no end. All the Council work fell on Sakurako and Himawari's shoulders and naturally, Sakurako was far from pleased about it. It didn't help that Sakurako couldn't understand _why_ Ayano was being so irresponsible.

A few minutes later the three of them reached Ayano's house. Chitose rang the doorbell and a short wait later, the door opened. The one standing in the doorway to greet them was, however, someone the Student Council was not expecting.

"Toshinou-san? What are you doing here?"

Sakurako blinked. _Why is Toshinou-senpai here? Is she here to visit Sugiura-senpai too?_

Kyouko grinned. "Oh, Chitose! You're here! Ayano told me that you'd be here soon. Himacchan and Sakucchan are here too! Come on in and we'll all have some fun!"

Himawari let out a nervous laugh. "Sugiura-senpai is sick and we came to visit her. So I don't think we can have fun..."

Kyouko laughed. "True. But Ayano's not _that_ sick so we really should try to have fun. That should cheer up Ayano too. Come on. Let's go upstairs to Ayano's room."

Kyouko took the three to Ayano's room and barged right in. "You have visitors, Ayano!"

Ayano, who was sitting up in her bed, sighed. "You shouldn't be so loud, Toshinou Kyouko."

Sakurako looked at the room in confusion. "Isn't the rest of the Amusement Club here?"

"No," replied Kyouko. "It's just me."

Sakurako raised her eyebrows. "Really? Only you came? But you rarely ever do anything without your club members. Even if you're not with the entire club, normally at least Funami-senpai is with you."

Kyouko let out a sheepish laugh and scratched the back of her head. "Well, you see... I kind of... forgot... about my fellow club members. So I came alone."

"You _forgot_?" Himawari asked in disbelief. "What do you mean you forgot? How is that even possible?"

"Well, Ayano was absent today so I messaged her and she told me that she had a cold. I wanted to come and visit her but I was already at school so I had no choice but to attend classes and wait until school was over. Unfortunately I had cleaning duty today so Yui left for the club room while I, the poor beautiful maiden, was forced to clean the classroom. As soon as I finished cleaning I rushed over here. But in my hurry I forgot to tell my club members that I was coming here."

Ayano rolled her eyes. "Poor beautiful maiden?"

Kyouko nodded matter-of-factly. "Yes. Because that's exactly what I am."

Ayano smiled despite herself. "Yeah, yeah. Did you call Funami-san yet?"

"Uh..."

"Hurry up and call her. Tell her where you are."

"Sure..." Kyouko pulled out her phone, quickly typed a message and sent it. "If I call Yui then she's going to yell at me so I sent her a text."

"As long as your club knows where you are, it's okay."

Kyouko grinned and gave Ayano a thumbs-up. Ayano chuckled which, in turn, made Kyouko's grin even bigger.

"It doesn't look like you need us to cheer up Sugiura-senpai," Sakurako remarked. "You're doing a good job at that yourself, Toshinou-senpai."

Chitose smiled and took off her glasses. "You're right about that, Oomuro-san. Those two get along so well. Hehe... Hehehe..."

"Ikeda-senpai, you've got a little blood... Whoa! That's a lot of blood!"

"Chitose! Ayano, where are the tissues?"

Ayano frantically pointed at a drawer and Kyouko dashed across the room. She expertly retrieved the box of tissues and threw it to the unsuspecting Himawari. The bluenette was bad at sports so it was only natural that she failed to catch the box; it ended up hitting her in the head instead. Sakurako reacted fast and managed to catch the tissue box before it hit the ground. She yanked out a few tissues and shoved them into Chitose's hand but the white-haired girl was far too engrossed in her fantasy to notice.

Ayano could feel her fever rising. "Chitose... Put on your glasses!"

* * *

Half an hour later, Sakurako and Himawari left together and headed towards home. Kyouko and Chitose stayed back saying that they'd leave once Ayano's mother returned. Sakurako would have waited too but she had homework to finish so waiting wasn't really an option. Himawari would have to help her so the bluenette had to leave as well.

As the two walked home, Sakurako let out a sigh. "That visit was really tiring."

Himawari chuckled. "Yes. I suppose that 'tiring' is the best way to describe it."

"Ikeda-senpai has way too many nosebleeds."

"True. But it's good that we succeeded in stopping her nosebleed this time."

Sakurako snorted. "We only succeeded because I forced her glasses on."

"That was actually a pretty good idea."

"Thank you. It's always nice when you appreciate my genius."

Himawari decided to make no retort and changed the topic instead. "Sugiura-senpai said that all the excitement made her temperature rise. It seems like our visit did more harm than good."

"That's not true. You made porridge for senpai. She seemed to like it."

"I suppose you're right."

The two fell silent and quietly continued walking. The silence didn't last for more than a minute though. There was a burning question in Sakurako's mind that she simply _had_ to ask.

"Uh, Himawari? Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Um... Do Sugiura-senpai and Toshinou-senpai... like each other?"

Himawari stopped dead in her tracks and stared at Sakurako with wide eyes. "W-What? Did you actually figure ou- No. I'm probably getting excited for nothing. What exactly do you mean by 'like'?"

Sakurako raised an eyebrow. "You're weird... What do I mean by 'like'? I mean _like_ like. I mean..." Sakurako blushed. " _Romantically_. Do they like each other like that?"

Himawari stared at Sakurako, her mouth agape. "You... You... You actually figured that out?!"

"...Does that mean I'm right?"

"Yes!"

Sakurako stood still for a few seconds before turning bright red. "S-Se-Seriously? They like each other?"

"Well, I don't know for sure but it's quite obvious that they have feelings for each other. The way Sugiura-senpai behaves around Toshinou-senpai is a complete giveaway."

"Yeah, now that I think about it that's probably true..."

Himawari nodded. "It most certainly is. I mea- Wait. How did you figure it out? Did someone say something to you? Or did you realize it on your own? Knowing you, it's probably the former."

"No one said anything to me," Sakurako snapped. "Jeez. Just how stupid do you think I am? I figured it out on my own."

"Really? But... How?"

Himawari's utter shock seeiously annoyed Sakurako. But arguing wouldn't help so she proceeded to answer the bluenette's question. "Well, I've noticed some things lately. First of all, Sugiura-senpai and Toshinou-senpai are almost always together. _Always_. Toshinou-senpai seems to spend more time with Sugiura-senpai than she does with her own club. Like when the election results were announced, Toshinou-senpai was one of the first people to congratulate Sugiura-senpai. The rest of the Amusement Club didn't come; it was just her. The same thing happened today. Toshinou-senpai just forgot about her club and came running to visit Sugiura-senpai. Also, Toshinou-senpai had no time yesterday but she still came all the way to the Council room to give Sugiura-senpai her printout. She could have just given it to Funami-senpai since she was in such a hurry. Honestly, nowadays Toshinou-senpai acts really funny when it comes to Sugiura-senpai. So I thought that maybe something was up. I thought that it might be possible that they like each other. But then I also thought that I might be overthinking things so I decided to ask you. Though to think that I'm actually right... Who am I kidding? Of course the great Sakurako-sama is correct!"

Sakurako burst out into a haughty laugh. Himawari stared at her laughing form for a while before letting out a long sigh. "Congratulations, Sakurako. You did a good job. You should have realized this sooner but I guess it's better late than never. Though it's a relief that you finally understand why Sugiura-senpai spends so much time in the Amusement Club room."

"Huh? What's that got to do with anything?"

Himawari facepalmed. "Sakurako... How did you figure out so much and still fail to understand something so basic?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Himawari." Sakurako was genuinely confused.

"Sakurako," Himawari said gently. "Sugiura-senpai spends so much time in the Amusement Club room so that she can spend time with Toshinou-senpai."

Sakurako blinked. A few seconds later, the new piece of information sank in and her eyes widened in realization. "So _that's_ why Sugiura-senpai leaves all the work to us nowadays! I still don't think she should do that but at least I understand now!"

Himawari smiled. "That's why I do so much of her work. I want Sugiura-senpai to be happy so I think that I should do everything I can to help."

Sakurako frowned. "Is it okay for her to be happy at your expense? You push yourself too hard sometimes. And Sugiura-senpai even takes Ikeda-senpai with her. Why can't she at least leave Ikeda-senpai to help us?"

Himawari giggled. "I think it's because Sugiura-senpai is too embarrassed to go visit Toshinou-senpai on her own. It's actually kind of cute."

"Cute?"

"Yes. Also… I don't think I'm pushing myself too hard. After all, you're there to help me, right?"

Himawari smiled warmly and Sakurako felt her cheeks flare up almost instantly. "Y-Yeah. Of course Sakurako-sama will h-help you. I'm going to be the ne-next president so… Oh, let's just go home!"

Sakurako marched away much to Himawari's amusement. The bluenette chuckled and started following her childhood friend. _She can be so cute_ _at times_ _._

"Sakurako!" Himawari called. "Slow down! Or are you planning on doing your homework on your own today?"

* * *

 **This chapter has a little bit of both ships. I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be dominated by HimaSaku so look** **forward to** **it** **!**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	6. Collapse

**Here's the sixth chapter, guys! I won't say much about this chapter except that it's a bit… dramatic. I hope you all enjoy the chapter.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter 6:** **Collapse**

* * *

A week after Sakurako realized that her two senpais had feelings for each other, the girl found herself to be more frustrated than she had ever been. When she didn't know why Ayano was acting so irresponsibly, Sakurako had been seriously angry with her senpai and considered telling her off. But she knew now and that meant that Sakurako couldn't say anything to Ayano no matter what.

Being unable to say anything was proving to be mighty troublesome though since the situation was, unfortunately, currently a lot worse than before. Ayano was terribly distracted nowadays and made quite a few mistakes in her work. As a result, not only did Himawari have to complete the president's unfinished work but now she also had to go through the work Ayano completed and fix any mistakes the violet-haired girl had made.

And Sakurako thought that they had their hands full before.

As usual, Ayano and Chitose were out while Sakurako and Himawari worked away in the Council room. Himawari's face was scrunched up in concentration as she looked through a bunch of papers. Sakurako narrowed her eyes at the bluenette who was partially to blame for their predicament. Himawari didn't look up from her work though so she had no idea that her friend was glaring at her.

Sakurako scowled. _I'm sure that Sugiura-senpai and Ikeda-senpai would help us out if we told them to. But that stupid Himawari won't even let me tell Sugiura-senpai that_ _she's making mistakes in_ _her work. I don't get why she wants to do all the work herself. Just because Sugiura-senpai is in love doesn't mean that she can do whatever she wants..._

Sakurako stared at her childhood friend for a while before cocking an eyebrow. "You're sweating a lot, Himawari. Are you okay?"

Himawari looked up, stared at Sakurako with a dazed look in her eyes and then began scrutinizing the papers again. "Hm."

Sakurako blinked. "Uh... Was that a yes or a no?"

"Yes."

Sakurako resisted the urge to groan. _It looks like someone isn't in a talkative mood today_ _._

Despite her chagrin, Sakurako didn't take her eyes off Himawari. She didn't believe the bluenette; she most certainly was not okay. The room was air-conditioned so it wasn't normal for the bluenette to be sweating as much as she was. Also, there were bags under Himawari's eyes and the girl seemed awfully pale.

Himawari, who was apparently done with her work, stood up and grabbed the stack of papers in order to go and keep it on the president's desk. When Sakurako saw how much Himawari's hands were shaking, her suspicions were confirmed; something was definitely wrong.

Sakurako jumped from her seat and ran around the table to where Himawari was. "Give those to me. You don't look too well so just sit down, OK?"

Himawari didn't argue and handed over the papers without a word. As Sakurako walked over to the president's desk and put down the stack, she contemplated forcefully dragging Himawari back home and making her rest for a bit.

 _I don't care how mad she gets at me. I'll take her home. Working this much can't possibly be_ _healthy_ _._

Sakurako turned around to look at Himawari, fully intending to yell at the girl if needed. She was annoyed to see that Himawari wasn't sitting like she had told her to. Instead, she was... swaying?

Himawari suddenly fell forward. Sakurako's eyes widened and she quickly ran forward, managing to catch her friend before she hit the ground.

"Himawari? Himawari? Hey! Wake up!"

* * *

Himawari lay in her bed and stared at the ceiling. Knowing that Sakurako was in her kitchen and actually cooking made Himawari nervous but she couldn't leave the bedroom since a certain someone had forbidden her from getting out of bed. On any other day Himawari wouldn't have listened to Sakurako's order but the icy glare that the girl had directed at the bluenette forced her to stay put.

Himawari smiled sympathetically at her sister who put a wet cloth on her forehead. "Don't worry, Kaede. I'm fine."

Kaede looked up at Himawari, concern written all over her face. "But Sakurako onee-chan said that you fainted at school."

"Yes, that's true but I was unconscious for only five minutes."

"I think that five minutes is a long time, onee-chan…"

Himawari patted Kaede on the head. "I don't think it's that long. Besides, it doesn't matter since I'm awake now, aren't I?"

Before Kaede could respond, a disgruntled grunt came from the doorway. Himawari and Kaede looked at the doorway to find Sakurako standing there with a deep frown etched into her features. She was carrying on a tray what Himawari assumed to be a bowl of porridge.

Sakurako walked into the room and placed the tray on the table. "You can go somewhere else, Kaede. You don't have to worry. I'll take care of your idiot sister for a while."

"Hey! Don't call me an idiot."

"Oh, I'll call you whatever I want. You've lost the right to say anything."

"Sakurako, I-"

Sakurako cut her off by raising a hand. "No. I don't want to hear anything from you."

Himawari stared at Sakurako absolutely puzzled at her current predicament. Just how had she ended up in a position where _she_ was being scolded by Sakurako? It was absolutely ridiculous. But she knew that she couldn't really say anything; she was, after all, kind of at fault. Kind of.

Kaede looked at the two older girls for a while before deciding to leave the room. It seemed like her two onee-chans needed to talk in private. "I'm going to the living room. Please don't fight too much, OK?"

After Kaede walked out of the room and Sakurako was sure that she was out of earshot, she turned towards Himawari and shot her a fierce glare. "You have a fever. And apparently, you've had it since this morning. Why did you come to school?"

Himawari felt herself shrinking under Sakurako's fierce look in spite of herself. "There's a lot of Council work, Sakurako. You know that. I can't just stay at home."

Sakurako grit her teeth. "You can't stay at home but it's perfectly fine if you suddenly faint because of overwork? It's like I said before; you're pushing yourself way too hard!"

"Sakurako…"

"No. Don't give me that look. What you did was stupid and you're a big idiot. Aren't you supposed to be the responsible one out of us two? How could you do something like this?"

Himawari looked at Sakurako helplessly, wondering what she could say to pacify the fuming girl before her. "I didn't faint on purpose, you know? It just happened. It's not like I was trying to faint. So calm down now, will you?"

Sakurako shook her head. "I can't calm down. This is a serious matter no matter what you say. You just _fainted_. Do you have any idea how scared I was?"

Himawari blinked. "You… You were scared?"

"Of course I was!"

Himawari's eyes widened. _I thought Sakurako would blush and take her words back or something. To think that she actually admits that she was scared for me… For_ me _._

Sakurako hung her head and said softly, "How would you feel if I suddenly collapsed like that?"

Himawari felt a wave of guilt pass over her. Of course Sakurako had been scared. She would have been scared herself if their positions were reversed. Plus, there was nobody else in the Council room at that time so Sakurako had to deal with the entire situation by herself. Himawari was glad that Sakurako had matured enough to handle a situation like that but that didn't mean that she _wanted_ to put Sakurako in such a position.

"I… I'm sorry, Sakurako."

Sakurako raised her head to look at her friend. "Really? You're sorry?"

Himawari sighed. "As much as it hurts me to have to apologize to _you_ , yes, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time."

"By 'careful' you mean you'll stay at home?"

"…Yes. Though who is going to do my work?"

"I will."

Himawari's eyebrows shot up at Sakurako's instant answer. "You'll do all of it?"

Sakurako nodded, a determined look on her face. "If it means that I don't have to deal with you losing consciousness again then I'll do it."

Himawari stared at Sakurako wide-eyed, stunned speechless. After some time, she closed her eyes and smiled. "You really have come a long way, Sakurako."

Sakurako blushed and mentally yelled at herself for getting so happy over a little praise. She cleared her throat and grabbed the bowl of porridge. "Sit up, Himawari. I made porridge for you."

Himawari did as told, took off the wet cloth on her forehead and gestured for Sakurako to give her the bowl. To her surprise, Sakurako didn't comply. Instead, Sakurako sat on the bed, took a spoonful of porridge, blew on it to cool it down and then held the spoon to Himawari's mouth. Himawari stared at the spoon in confusion before her brain finally registered the fact that Sakurako was trying to _feed_ her.

Himawari's cheeks were already warm because of her fever but she felt them warm up even more. She noticed that Sakurako was blushing too but decided not to comment on it. _I guess I'll just enjoy the moment. It's not like something like this happens every day._

Himawari opened her mouth and Sakurako gently put the spoon in. Himawari silently chewed her food and swallowed it. "The porridge is pretty good."

"Thanks."

That day, Kaede was surprised to hear no fighting from her sister's room. She was grateful for it though. _Good job, Sakurako onee-chan._

* * *

 **So what do you think of this HimaSaku chapter? Doesn't the idea of Sakurako taking care of Himawari warm your heart?**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	7. Sakurako's Decision

**I try to update once every two weeks but I'm a few days late this time. Sorry about that but I've had a stubborn cold for the past two weeks which just won't go away. Seriously, it's both embarrassing and uncomfortable when the professor is giving a lecture, the whole class is quiet and you just can't stop coughing. This has been happening to me for over a week. I'm glad my coughing is under control somewhat now...**

 **Oh, well. I somehow managed to write this chapter so please enjoy everyone!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter 7: Sakurako's Decision**

* * *

As Sakurako walked to school, she realized that she felt a bit lonely walking alone. It was strange for Himawari to not be walking next to her but this time, it most certainly was for the best.

Not that Himawari seemed to think the same.

 _"You're staying at home today, Himawari."_

 _"But my fever has gone down today. I can go to school."_

 _"Your fever might have gone down but it's not gone yet, is it?"_

 _"It hasn't gone away completely but-"_

 _"No buts, Himawari. Just yesterday you told me that you'd be more careful. So if you don't want to be the type of person who breaks their promises then stay at home!"_

Sakurako sighed as she thought of the little argument they had in the morning. She had headed over to Himawari's house to check on her only to find that the bluenette was trying to get ready for school. 'Trying' was indeed the correct word since the girl could barely stand straight. In the end, Sakurako's emotional blackmail worked and she managed to force Himawari to go to sleep.

Sakurako would have enjoyed being the one doing the scolding instead of the other way around but she was so angry that she couldn't bring herself to actually feel amused. She was angry with her senpais because it was their fault that Himawari pushed herself so much in the first place. It was her senpais' fault that Himawari fainted. Sakurako had been annoyed with the whole situation for the past few months but this was the last straw. She had had enough.

Himawari staying at home was for the best. Of course it was the best decision considering Himawari's health but there was another reason too. Sakurako wanted to have a talk with a certain someone at school and doing that would be a lot easier without Himawari around. If Himawari got wind of what Sakurako was planning to do then she would inevitably try to stop her. So Sakurako planned to get the job done while the bluenette was away from school. It was the perfect opportunity.

Unfortunately, Sakurako would have to attend classes first. And since Himawari wouldn't be there to help, Sakurako would actually have to _pay_ _attention_ in class.

Sakurako grimaced at the thought. But she had a job to do; going back home wasn't an option. So she steeled her nerves and marched forward to school.

* * *

After a long grueling day of classes, Sakurako was glad to finally be able to head to the Student Council room. That day, classes weren't the only thing that had tired her out; lunch time was nothing short of a pain. Everyone had heard about what had happened and as soon as lunch break started they bombarded Sakurako with questions. And everyone meant _everyone_. All of her classmates were far too interested in the whole matter. Sakurako knew that Akari and Chinatsu were truly concerned about Himawari but it seemed to Sakurako that most of her other classmates just wanted to gossip.

After Sakurako had somehow managed to get rid of the crowd, her senpais came to her classroom. Since Yui was the one who did most of the talking, they didn't stay for long. Yui was brief with her questions and didn't ask anything unnecessary but looking at her other three senpais irked Sakurako. Her only consolation lay in the fact that Kyouko, Ayano and even Chitose looked incredibly guilty. Sakurako was glad that they felt some remorse.

At that time, there was no way Sakurako could have the meaningful talk she wanted. So she resolved to do it later after classes were over.

As Sakurako stood before the door to the Council room, she reconsidered her decision one last time. After a few moments, she shook her head; she would have to stick with the decision she had made. No matter how much Sakurako wanted to go after Ayano to yell at her, she knew that she simply couldn't because doing that would make Himawari extremely mad. Also, Sakurako felt that telling off Ayano would do no good. It would be a temporary solution at best. So, the previous night, after spending a long time thinking about what to do, Sakurako had made her decision.

Sakurako was going to talk to _Kyouko_.

Talking with Kyouko was, in Sakurako's opinion, the option that would be quicker, easier and a lot more effective. Sakurako had an idea about a permanent fix to the whole situation and there was no way that that her stammering, stuttering, tsundere Sugiura-senpai would ever be able to execute said fix. It was only something that Toshinou-senpai could possibly do and Sakurako was going to pull out all the stops to make sure that she actually did it. All she had to do was convince Kyouko.

Well, Sakurako would have to quickly finish her Student Council work first.

Sakurako slid the door open and entered the room. To her surprise, Ayano and Chitose were already there and were hard at work. They usually waited for her and Himawari before starting the day's work.

Ayano raised her head at the sound of the door opening, saw Sakurako and immediately stood up. "Oomuro-san, I am extremely sorry about what happened yesterday. You shouldn't have had to deal with that alone. We should have been here. Actually, it's not Chitose's fault since I'm the one who dragged her to the Amusement Club with me so please don't blame her. Blame me. I understand if you're angry with me but please forgive me!"

Sakurako stood in her place, caught off guard by Ayano's sudden rant. She hadn't expected an apology. Before she could even think of what to say in response, Chitose spoke up.

"Now, now, Ayano-chan. Don't place all the blame on yourself." Chitose turned to look at Sakurako and smiled sadly. "I know saying this won't change what happened but still... I'm very sorry, Oomuro-san."

Sakurako stared at her two very apologetic senpais unsure of how to reply to them. While it was true that her senpais seemed to be genuinely sorry, they weren't sorry for what Sakurako wanted them to be sorry for. They didn't get the crux of the problem. Though it wouldn't have hurt to have her senpais around when Himawari suddenly fainted, that wasn't what Sakurako was angry about. Sakurako wasn't upset that no one was in the room at that time; she was upset because it was her senpais' fault that Himawari even fainted in the first place.

Sakurako sighed. _I really do have to talk to Toshinou-senpai or else things will never change._

Sakurako walked over to her chair and sat down. "Don't apologize to me. If you want to say you're sorry, say it to Himawari."

Ayano and Chitose looked at each other. They both realized that they weren't going to get a better or friendlier response from Sakurako.

Ayano reluctantly sat back down, not particularly pleased that her kouhai hadn't forgiven her. "The two of us will visit Furutani-san today. We'll apologize to her then, Oomuro-san. But I have to finish all this work first. Completing two people's work is not going to be easy..."

Sakurako raised an eyebrow. "Two people?"

"Yes, two people. I have to do my own work and I also have to complete Furutani-san's work as well."

Sakurako blinked. "You're going to do Himawari's work?"

Ayano nodded. "Of course. Who else is going to do it?"

"I told Himawari that I would do her work..."

"No, no, Oomuro-san. Furutani-san does so much of my work all the time. This is the least I could do in return."

Sakurako didn't object. In her opinion, it really _was_ the least Ayano could do.

Ayano looked at the stack of papers before her and frowned. "Oomuro-san, has Furutani-san been correcting my work? I looked through a few papers and that seems to be the case."

Sakurako's eyes widened. _To think Sugiura-senpai would figure that out so quickly... She really is amazing when she's focussed._

Sakurako looked at Ayano for a while wondering if Himawari would get mad at her if she said anything. In the end, Sakurako sighed and said, "Yes. She's been correcting your work."

Ayano's frown deepened. "She should have told me that I was making mistakes..."

Sakurako chuckled. "Please make sure to tell that to Himawari, Sugiura-senpai. She won't believe me if I tell her that you said that."

"I'll tell her. She shouldn't have to go through the trouble of fixing my work."

The trio started working and they did so in silence for the next ten minutes or so. Sakurako worked as fast as she could; she had to talk to Kyouko before the blonde went back home. Sakurako heard Ayano sigh and sensed that she wasn't going to want to hear what Ayano had to say. After all, Ayano was most probably going to say...

"Toshinou Kyouko didn't submit her printout."

It took every ounce of self-control Sakurako had to resist the sudden strong urge to bang her head against the table. Didn't Ayano say that she was going to do two people's work? And now she was going to visit Kyouko? Sakurako was horrified at the thought of having to complete _four_ people's work all on her own. Yelling at her senpai was beginning to seem like a good idea after all.

 _No. No. No way! I can't let Sugiura-senpai leave! I have to-_

"Oomuro-san, could you go and collect Toshinou Kyouko's printout?"

Sakurako looked up at her senpai in surprise. "You want _me_ to go?"

Ayano nodded. "I have too much work to do. If I go then I probably won't be able to come back soon so it's better if you go."

Sakurako was glad that her violet-haired senpai was acting responsible for the first time in a long time. It was a relief to be honest. _Hey, isn't this the perfect opportunity? I can go and talk with Toshinou-senpai! There's just one problem..._

"I still have some work left, Sugiura-senpai."

"Don't worry about that," Chitose said. "I'll complete the rest of your work for you."

Sakurako grinned. _Problem solved._ "I'll be leaving then."

Sakurako walked out of the Council room and hurried towards the Amusement Club room. Her senpais' guilt was most certainly working in her favor.

Sakurako soon found herself standing in front of the door to the Amusement Club room. She took a deep breath. The conversation she wanted to have was not going to be easy.

 _But it's Toshinou-senpai. I'm sure things will work out just fine._

Sakurako steeled her nerves and with a look of fierce determination, she shoved the door open.

"Toshinou Kyouko... senpai!"

* * *

 **What's going to happen next? What exactly is Sakurako planning to say to Kyouko? Sakurako thinks she has a permanent fix to the whole situation. I wonder what that could be...**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	8. The Confrontation

**I'm extremely sorry for being so late with this chapter. Please forgive me for taking so long to update after the previous chapter's cliffhanger. It's been a little over two months, hasn't it? I'm sorry but I was forced to put writing this story on hold due to my exams. I'm done with those now so I can finally present this chapter to you!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The Council of Change**

 **Chapter 8:** **The Confrontation**

* * *

Kyouko looked up from the doujins she was working on at the sound of Sakurako's voice. She gave a strained smile when she saw who had come to visit her.

"Hey, Sakucchan! What are you doing here?"

Sakurako walked into the room, closing the door behind her. "I came here to collect your printout." Sakurako took a look at the room and realized that Kyouko was alone. The other club members were nowhere to be seen. "Where is everybody?"

"They're not here yet," Kyouko replied. "Yui has cleaning duty today and when I bumped into Akari and Chinatsu on my way here they told me that they had to help the teacher with something. Those three should get here soon though."

"Oh." _Well, this is good for me. I thought I'd have to ask Toshinou-senpai to talk with me outside but we're alone now so I won't have to do that. I'd better hurry though. I need to finish talking with senpai before everyone else gets here._

Sakurako snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Kyouko's voice. "Isn't Ayano going to come today?"

Sakurako shook her head. "Sugiura-senpai can't come today since she's really busy. So she sent me here instead."

Kyouko's face fell. "Oh. Is that so?"

Sakurako felt her temper flare at Kyouko's obvious disappointment. _Toshinou-senpai still wants to play? At least Sugiura-senpai and Ikeda-senpai feel guilty and are working. But Toshinou-senpai doesn't seem to care at all!_

Sakurako marched over to the table and sat across from Kyouko. "Senpai, we need to talk."

"Uh… Aren't we talking now, Sakucchan?"

Sakurako shook her head in frustration, not in the mood to put up with any of her senpai's antics. "I mean that there's something important that I need to talk to you about."

Kyouko blinked. It was unusual for Sakurako to be so serious. "What do you want to talk about, Sakucchan?"

"Sugiura-senpai and Ikeda-senpai are really busy because they have a lot of extra work to do today. You know why? It's because Himawari isn't here today since she fainted yesterday."

Kyouko grimaced. "Yeah, I'm sorry about that, Sakucchan. You must have been scared yesterday."

"I was but that's beside the point."

Kyouko's eyebrows shot up, not expecting the girl to admit something like that so readily.

Sakurako paid no heed to Kyouko's reaction. "Do you know _why_ Himawari collapsed?"

"Well, during lunch break you said that she collapsed because she had a fever."

"That's true but it's not the whole reason. The real reason why she fainted was because she was overworked."

Kyouko gave a half-smile. "Himacchan is a really diligent girl but I guess the vice president's workload is a bit much, huh?"

Sakurako shook her head, clearly agitated. "No, no. It's not that the vice president has too much to do. The problem is that Himawari has to do both the vice president _and_ the president's work."

Kyouko winced. "Yeah… Ayano tells me that Himacchan does a lot of her work."

Sakurako frowned. "Yes. Himawari sure does. And you know why? It's because Sugiura-senpai spends so much time here with _you_. That's why Himawari has to complete senpai's work all the time. That's why she was overworked. That's why she fainted."

Sakurako narrowed her eyes at her blonde senpai. "You guys are why she fainted."

Kyouko's face fell. "Sorry…" She averted her eyes, noticing how unusually venomous Sakurako's voice sounded.

Sakurako felt slightly guilty but she refused to relent. "This has to stop, Kyouko-senpai. It just does. Sugiura-senpai comes here only to spend time with you. If you two were girlfriends then you wouldn't be so desperate to spend time at school like this."

Kyouko's eyes widened. "Huh? Girlfriends? What are you talking about, Sakucchan?"

Sakurako raised an eyebrow. "You don't have to act so surprised, Toshinou-senpai. It's pretty obvious, you know? You like Sugiura-senpai, don't you?"

Kyouko blinked. Then she burst out laughing. "You're so silly, Sakucchan! Of course I like Ayano. She's such a good friend of mi–"

"You know that's not what I mean."

Kyouko looked down at the table as she felt a warm blush spread across her cheeks. "I… Well… I mean…"

Sakurako's eyebrows shot up. "Wow… I can't believe that the great Toshinou-senpai is _flustered_. That's not something I ever thought I'd see."

Kyouko's blush deepened. She wasn't sure where her kouhai was going with the conversation so she said nothing in response.

Sakurako took a deep breath and then let it out. "I want you to confess, Toshinou-senpai!"

Kyouko's eyes shot up to meet Sakurako's. "Wh-What?!"

"It's the only solution. That way you two will be able to go on dates and stuff in your free time and then Sugiura-senpai will be able to focus on her Student Council work when she's at school."

Kyouko let out a nervous laugh. "I suppose that could happen. But I can't just confess all of a sudden, Sakucchan."

"But you have to!"

"No."

"Do it!"

"I can't."

"Please, Toshinou-senpai!"

"Why are you so bent on this?"

"Because if you don't confess then my Himawari is going to keep on suffering!"

Silence filled the room. A few moments later, Kyouko broke into a wide grin that Sakurako immediately recognized. That grin meant that Kyouko was ready to tease her and as expected, mischief filled her senpai's eyes.

"Ohh? What did you say just now? _My_ Himawari? Just when did Himacchan become yours, Sakucchan?"

This time it was Sakurako's turn to blush. She frantically waved her hands in front of her. "No, no. I didn't mean it. That was just a slip of the tongue."

Kyouko shook her head. "You're wrong. That was a Freudian slip."

"A Freu-what slip?"

"A Freudian slip. In other words, you said that because deep down you believe that Himawari is yours. And that's because… You love Himacchan!"

Sakurako gave Kyouko a blank stare. After what her senpai said sank in, Sakurako's jaw dropped. "Huh?! What are you talking about? Are you crazy, Toshinou-senpai?"

Kyouko chuckled. "I'm pretty sure I'm not."

"You're not? Oh, then that means that you're just trying to change the topic."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Let's get back to the original topic. Are you going to confess or not?"

Kyouko looked at Sakurako for a while and then started laughing again. Sakurako's eyebrow twitched. "Why are you laughing? This is a serious issue."

"I know, I know," Kyouko said, wiping the tears from her eyes."But I can't help but laugh. To think that I'd have to see the day when you force me to confess."

"So… Will you do it?"

Kyouko smiled. "Yes, I'll do it. After all, I can't let _your_ Himawari suffer, right?"

"Hey! I said that was just a mistake!"

"Sure, sure. But on a serious note, I've been wanting to tell Ayano about my feelings for quite some time now but I couldn't figure out when to do it. Things are getting out of hand though and now you and Himacchan are suffering. So I guess it's best for me to confess." Kyouko let out a sigh. "I just hope Ayano doesn't reject me…"

Sakurako looked at the blonde incredulously. "Senpai, she's not going to reject you."

"You think so?"

"I'm pretty sure of it."

Kyouko smiled. "Let's hope that you're right."

Sakurako smirked. "The great Sakurako-sama is always right."

Kyouko sweatdropped. "Yeah… So when is the great Sakurako-sama going to confess to our favorite bluenette?"

"Wha–?" Sakurako turned beet red in an instant. "Why would you say that?!"

"Because you're obviously madly in love with Himacchan."

"No, I'm not!" Sakurako shrieked. Kyouko's eyes sparkled with amusement. Not willing to entertain her senpai any longer, Sakurako took a deep breath to calm herself down. "I am _not_ in love with Himawari."

"Staying in denial isn't going to do you much good, Sakucchan."

Before Sakurako could make any retort, the sound of the door opening reached her ears. She turned to see Yui, Akari and Chinatsu entering the room.

"Oh, Sakurako-chan! What are you doing here?"

Sakurako smiled. "Hey, Akari-chan. I was just leaving. I came here to collect Toshinou-senpai's printout."

Sakurako looked at Kyouko and the blonde realized that their little conversation was over. With a nod, the older girl pulled out her printout from her bag and handed it over to her kouhai. Sakurako stood up and walked over to the door.

Sakurako looked over her shoulder and looked at Kyouko. "Best of luck, senpai."

With that, Sakurako walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Yui raised an eyebrow at Kyouko. "What was that about?"

Kyouko reddened slightly. "You'll find out in a few days."

* * *

 **Sakurako's plan is quite something, isn't it? But considering how she kind of put Kyouko on the spot and forced her to agree, I wonder if Kyouko is actually going to fulfill her promise…**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	9. The Announcement

**Sakurako has been quite annoyed for the past few chapters, hasn't she? Well, I now present to you guys this chapter. Sakurako is finally in a better mood in this one!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter 9:** **The Announcement**

* * *

Two days after Sakurako's confrontation with Kyouko, Himawari was finally well enough to go back to school. Sakurako would never admit it but she felt kind of happy to have her back. School was enough of a pain but without Himawari there it was terribly boring. She couldn't, however, deny that watching Ayano working so hard to complete two people's work the past few days had been rather… _entertaining_.

Himawari raised an eyebrow at what could be best described as an evil smirk on Sakurako's face. They had almost reached school though so she decided not to ask anything. _Also, trying to figure out what's going through this idiot's mind will only give me a headache. I should just be happy that she's not trying to pick a fight with me today._

The two soon reached their classroom and Chinatsu and Akari immediately bombarded Himawari with questions about her health. While Himawari continued to reassure her friends that she was fine and what had happened was not a big deal, Sakurako stared at the door wondering whether Kyouko would show up or not. A few minutes later, the bell rang and their homeroom teacher walked in so everyone was forced to take their seats as their morning classes began.

Sakurako was glad that she didn't have to pay full attention to what her teachers were saying. That was another advantage of having Himawari back; Himawari would take notes, listen carefully to the lessons and explain everything to her later. Unfortunately, not paying attention didn't exactly make time pass any faster and so Sakurako struggled not to fall asleep out of sheer boredom.

Lunch time finally arrived and Sakurako quite literally jumped out of her seat as soon as the teacher left the room. She stretched and let out a yawn. "Man, that was so boring! I'm so glad it's finally time for lunch."

Himawari chuckled and smiled fondly at the girl. _I can't believe it but I think I actually_ missed _Sakurako's antics._

Himawari, Sakurako, Akari and Chinatsu sat together and spent lunch time eating and chatting. Sakurako occasionally stole a few furtive glances at the door expecting Kyouko to arrive at some point. She hadn't heard from Kyouko after their conversation the other day and she was growing rather impatient. If Kyouko actually confessed to Ayano then Sakurako felt that Kyouko would come to tell her about it. And what better time to tell her than during their break?

Much to Sakurako's dismay, their lunch break ended but her senpai made no appearance. Afternoon classes were boring for a certain someone as usual and after their classes were finally over, Sakurako and Himawari headed towards the Student Council room. As Sakurako walked down the corridors with her blue-haired friend, she began to wonder whether Kyouko was actually going to confess at all. She grimaced at the thought of having to try to convince Kyouko _again_. Not only did she have no idea how to convince her senpai, there was also the fact that Kyouko would probably turn the conversation around and start teasing her again. Sakurako blushed as she remembered Kyouko's teasing that day.

Once again, Himawari found herself raising an eyebrow at the look on Sakurako's face. _Okay, seriously, what is wrong with her? Why does she look so upset all of a sudden? And she's bushing now too. Is this a new habit of hers or something? Making random expressions at random times?_

The two reached the Council room and Sakurako slid open the door. "We're here…" she mumbled. _I can't believe that I'm in a bad mood because of_ Toshinou-senpai _of all people._

"Oomuro-san, you're finally here!"

Sakurako looked up at Ayano in surprise. She looked at the clock in the room and frowned. They weren't late so what did Ayano mean by 'finally'?

Ayano smiled when she saw that Sakurako wasn't alone. "Oh, Furutani-san! You're here today too. That's even better."

Sakurako furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What are you talking about, Sugiura-senpai? Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everything's absolutely fine." Ayano laughed nervously. "Fine, just fine… Well… We're going to the Amusement Club!"

Sakurako wasn't sure why Ayano seemed so jittery but at that moment she really didn't care. All she wanted to do was bang her head against the wall repeatedly. Preferably for a few hours. _Seriously?! The Amusement Club again? Will things never change? I'm going to have to talk to Toshinou-senpai again…_

"Come on, you three. Let's go!"

Sakurako blinked. "Huh? We're all going?"

Ayano nodded. "Yes. Toshinou Kyouko wants to, uh… She wants to make an announcement."

Kyouko making random announcements was nothing new but as Ayano proceeded to shove everyone out the door, Sakurako couldn't help but notice how suspiciously red-faced Ayano was.

* * *

Sakurako sat down on the floor next to Himawari and quickly realized that just like the Council members, the Amusement Club members had no idea what Kyouko's announcement was about. Not like that was anything out of the ordinary.

Kyouko stood in front of all of them and cleared her throat. "Thank you, everyone, for gathering here today. I have called you all in order to make an important announcement."

Yui yawned. "Sure, sure. Cut out all the drama and just get to the point."

Kyouko grinned. "Impatient as ever, Yui. Though I guess I really should get to the point so… Ayano! Come up here!"

Everyone turned to stare at Ayano who awkwardly walked up to the front and stood beside Kyouko. Ayano looked at Chitose and pointed at the tissue box in the white-haired girl's hands. "I gave you that tissue box for a reason, Chitose. So please put a few tissues into your nose right now."

Chitose seemed confused but did as told. Ayano nodded and then motioned for Kyouko to start talking. Kyouko smiled at her and did just that. "Well, then. I suppose it's time for me to make my announcement. Actually, a certain someone told me to do a certain something. Now, I really wasn't sure how to do said thing but eventually I decided on a plan of action. So I called Ayano to the park yesterday and after chatting for a bit, I asked her a certain something and she said 'yes'. What I'm trying to say is that–"

"We're together!"

Everyone present turned to look at Ayano, surprised by her sudden outburst. Ayano took one look at everyone's amused faces and immediately turned red enough to make a tomato jealous. Kyouko smiled softly at the purpled-haired girl, took hold of her hand and looked at all of her friends with a genuine smile on her face. "She's telling the truth. I confessed to her in the park yesterday and she said that she returns my feelings. That's the announcement that I… No. That's the announcement that _we_ wanted to make. We're girlfriends now."

For a moment, silence filled the room. And then all of a sudden the room erupted with noise.

Yui smiled. "Congratulations, you two. In my opinion, Kyouko should have confessed ages ago but it's better late than never."

Akari jumped up and ran over to Kyouko. She grabbed onto Kyouko's free hand and smiled brightly at her. "I'm so happy for you, Kyouko-chan! And you too, Sugiura-senpai. You two make such a cute couple!"

Chinatsu tried to act casual but the huge grin on her face betrayed her. "This is great news. Now I won't have to deal with you trying to glomp me all the time."

"Who said I'd stop doing that, Chinatsu-chan?"

Chinatsu smirked. "You have to stop if you don't want to upset your girlfriend. Right, Sugiura-senpai?"

"H-huh? I g-guess? I mean, yes. Toshinou Kyouko, you have to stop bothering Yoshikawa-san."

"Aww… Is my Aya-chan jealous?"

"Wh-What?!"

Everyone laughed. It seemed as though it was going to take some time for Ayano to get used to being Kyouko's girlfriend.

Himawari stood up and with a gentle smile on her face, she walked over to Ayano. "Congratulations, Sugiura-senpai. I've been rooting for you all this time, you know? I'm glad this finally happened. I'm sure you and Toshinou-senpai are going to be very happy together."

Ayano blushed furiously. "You've been rooting for me? Was I _that_ obvious?"

Himawari giggled. "I'm sorry to say this but yes, you really were that obvious."

Ayano felt like digging a hole and disappearing into the ground. She let out a sigh. "That's really embarrassing… But thank you, Furutani-san."

Sakurako didn't move and stared at the new couple in shock. _Toshinou-senpai actually listened to me? She confessed to Sugiura-senpai and they're a couple now. That means…_ Sakurako broke into a wide grin as she finally registered what had happened. _That means I won! I got exactly what I wanted!_

Sakurako jumped up, ran towards her two senpais and pounced on them, gathering the two of them into a bear hug. "I'm so happy! This is the best!"

"Sakurako!" Himawari chided. "Let go of them!"

Sakurako pulled away from Kyouko and Ayano and gave them a toothy smile. Ayano was a bit confused at how happy Sakurako was but Kyouko, who knew the reason fully well, burst out laughing. "Yes, Sakucchan. This really is the best, isn't it?" Kyouko leaned forward and whispered into Sakurako's ear, "For the both of us."

Sakurako realized what the blonde was implying and blushed. Himawari furrowed her eyebrows, wondering just what her senpai had said to make Sakurako blush like that. She didn't get the chance to ask anything though.

"Chitose!"

Ayano's shout made everyone turn to look at the white-haired girl in alarm. How could they have forgotten about her? After all, the announcement could easily cause a life-threatening situation for her. Unsurprisingly, Chitose had taken off her glasses and was engrossed in her fantasy world. The only reason why the room was not currently covered in blood was because of the tissues already stuffed into Chitose's nose. Ayano was glad that her idea had worked but the tissues were slowly becoming red and it was obvious that they'd have a disaster on their hands in no time.

"Chitose, stop." Ayano took Chitose's glasses and put them on her friend. "I don't want to deal with this right now so stop fantasizing and let's go."

Before Chitose could protest, Ayano grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the room. "We're going back to the Council room. Oomuro-san and Furutani-san, you two come too."

"Oh, no!" Kyouko yelled dramatically. "My girlfriend left me! Oh, well. We're going on a date after school so I guess it's okay."

Sakurako struggled to keep from grinning like an idiot. _I finally got what I wanted. Sugiura-senpai has headed back to the Council room and since she's going to spend time with Toshinou-senpai after school, that means that she's going to focus on her work now. This is great!_

"We'll be going then." Sakurako headed towards the door. "Let's go, Himawari."

The two left the room and the Amusement Club members waved them goodbye. Sakurako and Himawari then headed towards the Council room. They didn't get too far though.

"Sakucchan!"

Sakurako and Himawari turned around to see Kyouko running towards them.

"What's wrong, Toshinou-senpai?"

Kyouko shook her head. "Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to thank you, Sakucchan. If it weren't for you, this wouldn't have ever happened."

"Oh." Sakurako blinked; she hadn't expected to be thanked. "Well… Sakurako-sama appreciates your gratitude."

Kyouko laughed. "Sure. But there's a small favor I want to ask you."

"What favor?"

"Will you do it or not?"

"First tell me what you want, senpai."

"I want you to stop staying in denial. That's all I ask."

Sakurako's cheeks flared up in an instant. "Stop saying stuff like that!" she shouted.

Sakurako turned on her heel and stormed off. After a moment of hesitation, Himawari decided to run after Sakurako instead of questioning Kyouko. The blonde took one last look at her kouhais before heading back to the Amusement Club room, laughing the entire time.

"Wait for me, Sakurako!"

Sakurako slowed down to let Himawari catch up to her. _Toshinou-senpai is crazy. There's no way I'm in love with that stupid Himawari._

Himawari noticed that Sakurako was pouting but decided to ask what she wanted to ask anyway. "Sakurako, why did Toshinou-senpai thank you? What did you do?"

Sakurako stopped dead in her tracks. "Uh…" _She won't get mad at me if I tell her, will she? Everything worked out so she can't possibly get mad, right?_

"Sakurako?"

"Actually… The day after you collapsed, I told Toshinou-senpai to confess so that Sugiura-senpai wouldn't get so distracted anymore."

"You did what?!"

"Hey, hey." Sakurako raised her hands up in defense. "Calm down. Everything's fine now and Toshinou-senpai even thanked me. So don't yell at me."

Himawari frowned. "I don't think you should have done that, Sakurako. But… Things did work out, didn't they? Congratulations on your success."

Sakurako grinned. "Thank you, Himawari."

"Oh, right. I have another question for you."

"What question?"

"What was that whole 'staying in denial' thing about?"

Sakurako gave Himawari a blank stare, turned around and then walked away.

Himawari blinked. "Hey! Aren't you going to answer me?"

Sakurako didn't utter a word in response. She simply continued walking towards the Council room. Himawari furrowed her eyebrows at Sakurako's strange behavior. _I suppose it's best not to ask her any more questions._

Asking any more questions wouldn't have been fruitful for Himawari anyway; Sakurako didn't say a single word for the rest of the day.

* * *

 **Kyouko and Ayano are together! Now if only Sakurako could stop being in denial about her true feelings…**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	10. Epiphany

**We've reached chapter ten! Jeez, it feels like I've been writing this story forever... But I'm proud of myself for getting this far. Writing this much is, after all, quite a daunting task. At least for me, it is.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter 10: Epiphany**

* * *

It had been two weeks since Kyouko and Ayano had gotten together and the Student Council was finally functioning normally after a long time. Sakurako's plan had worked out perfectly. Ayano no longer looked for excuses to visit the Amusement Club room and that meant that both Ayano and Chitose did all the Council work they were supposed to do. Kyouko now normally turned in her printouts on time and even if she did forget, Ayano would quickly retrieve it from her and be back in the Council room within five to ten minutes. Sometimes, she wouldn't even go herself; she'd simply send one of the other Council members.

The only problem that arose was that in the beginning, Chitose had a hard time keeping her nosebleeds under control. Not wanting her best friend to end up in the hospital because of her new relationship, Ayano forbade Chitose from taking off her glasses. Chitose had reluctantly obliged but since it had managed to bring the problem under control, Chitose continued to do as told and kept her glasses on at all times.

Everything was absolutely perfect… And yet for some reason, Sakurako was _very_ annoyed.

Sakurako had finished her day's work and was currently sitting in the Council room waiting for Himawari to finish everything she had to do. Sakurako looked around to see both Chitose and Ayano hard at work. Now that there were so many people to help, Sakurako's workload had reduced drastically. But months of completing huge amounts of paperwork had actually made her pretty efficient. So it was no wonder that Sakurako had completed her share of the work so fast.

Sakurako looked at the stack of papers Himawari was working on and let out a sigh. "Himawari, give me some of those. I'll help you out."

Himawari looked up at Sakurako and smiled. "Don't worry, Sakurako. I've got this. You can take some rest now so that you're able to focus on your homework later."

Himawari returned to her work and Sakurako's eyebrow twitched. She was already upset over being annoyed for no apparent reason for the past few days but she found it unbelievable that being asked to take rest would actually upset her further. Sakurako was annoyed that Himawari wouldn't let her help. Another thing that irked her was that the _lack_ of work was currently annoying her.

Sakurako folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. Everyone else was working so she was left alone to her thoughts. Sakurako stared at the ceiling, wondering just why she was feeling the way she was. _I got what I wanted, didn't I? Then why am I so upset? Himawari doesn't have to work so much anymore and my own workload is less than half of what it previously was. That's great, isn't it?_

Sakurako turned her head to look at her senpais and then shifted her gaze to look at Himawari. _It's kind of boring, though, nowadays. I don't get to talk to Himawari that much anymore. Well, I do talk to her throughout the day but the only time I can talk to her alone is when we're doing homework. And that barely counts since… Since we're doing_ homework _. She yells at me if I get distracted so I can't really talk to her then. The two of us used to be alone a lot before since Sugiura-senpai and Ikeda-senpai were rarely here but now… There's too many people._

Sakurako's eyes widened as she realized exactly what she was thinking. She let her chair fall back to its normal position and leaned on the table. Propping her head up on her hand, Sakurako narrowed her eyes at her blue haired childhood friend. _Why am I upset over not being able to talk to_ you _, you busty moron_ _?_

Sakurako continued to stare at Himawari, half expecting that the answer to her question would appear on the bluenette's face.

 _I want you to stop staying in denial. That's all I ask._

Sakurako's face scrunched up as she remembered Kyouko's words. _Toshinou-senpai is wrong. Stop staying in denial? What is that supposed to mean? I'm not in love with Himawari. That's the truth. I'm not in denial… Am I?_

Himawari sensed Sakurako's intense gaze on her and frowned. She looked up at Sakurako, discomfort clearly written on her face. "Could you please stop looking at me like that? You're making me uncomfortable…"

Sakurako said nothing in response. She simply dropped her arms and buried her head in them. Sakurako felt her cheeks flare at the thought that there might be even a remote possibility that Kyouko was correct. The thought of being in love with Himawari felt kind of wrong but then again, it also felt kind of _right_. Not to mention that if she really was in love with Himawari then that would explain a _lot_.

Sakurako suddenly stood up causing her chair to topple over. Himawari looked up in surprise. "Is something wrong, Sakurako?"

Sakurako looked at Himawari and reddened even further. "Nothing's wrong. But I'm bored so I'm leaving."

"Huh? But I'll be done in five minutes or so. Can't you wait a little longer?"

Sakurako shook her head vigorously. "No, no. I can't… Just no. I need to leave. Right _now_."

Before anyone could say anything to stop her, Sakurako grabbed her bag and rushed towards the door. She almost fell over in her hurry but she managed to make it to the door. Sliding the door open, Sakurako stepped into the hallway, turned to her left and then ran away at full speed much to the astonishment of the rest of the Council members.

Himawari stared at the open door in shock, wondering what had happened to make Sakurako suddenly run away like that. She sighed. "That girl really is hopeless…"

* * *

"Oh, you're ba– " Nadeshiko raised an eyebrow at her younger sister. "What's wrong? Why are you panting?"

Sakurako stood in the doorway to the living room, hunched over and hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. "I… ran... back home… from school," Sakurako said between deep breaths.

Nadeshiko wasn't sure if that counted as strange behavior or not. This was Sakurako after all. "You ran the entire way back? Why?"

"I ran back because… Because…" Sakurako hung her head. "Why did I do that again? I should have slowed down at some point."

"I'm losing my mind," Sakurako mumbled, heading towards her room. "Yeah, that's the only explanation. I've gone crazy."

Nadeshiko stared at Sakurako as she slouched away. The older girl furrowed her eyebrows. _Okay… She really is acting strange. Did something happen at school?_

Luckily for Sakurako, her older sister decided not to follow her and so Sakurako managed to reach her room without anyone questioning her further. Sakurako entered her room, closed the door, dropped her bag on the floor and threw herself onto her bed. She lay on her back and stared up at the ceiling. Sakurako might have run away from school but unfortunately, she couldn't run away from her thoughts.

 _I'm crazy, right? I mean, why else would I think that I'm in love with Himawari? That's just ridiculous…_

Even as she thought that, Sakurako could feel a blush creeping onto her cheeks. She began to think of all the times she had spent with Himawari. She remembered just how much they argued but she couldn't deny that she kind of _enjoyed_ all the arguments. When Himawari wasn't around, she'd always be bored out of her mind. She still remembered how annoyed and upset she had been when Himawari spent all that time teaching Chinatsu how to knit a scarf.

 _Because if you don't confess then my Himawari is going to keep on suffering!_

Sakurako sighed. Seriously, why would she say something like that? Did she really think that Himawari was hers?

 _No, that's not it. I just said that she was mine because she's my servant. That's right. My ser–_

Sakurako slapped her forehead. _That's just stupid. If I thought that she was just my servant then I wouldn't have gone through so much trouble just to reduce the amount of Council work she has to do. Toshinou-senpai is right. I'm just in denial…_

Sakurako sat up and smiled wistfully. _I'm in love with Himawari, aren't I?_

She moved to sit at the edge of the bed and stared at the floor for a while. "I'm in love with Himawari…"

Sakurako's smile slowly faded as the realization fully sank in.

" _Oh crap._ "

* * *

 **Finally, Sakurako! It took you long enough to realize something so obvious. Oh, well. Better late than never, I suppose.**

 **So, what did you guys think of this chapter? Did it make your day? If it did, please make my day by posting a review.**


	11. The Pains of Love

**Sakurako has finally realized her feelings. But how is she going to deal with it now? Read on to find out…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter 11:** **The Pains of Love**

* * *

"Crap, crap, crap!"

Around one hour after Sakurako had figured out how she truly felt about her blue haired childhood friend, she was still having an extremely hard time trying to wrap her head around it. Sure, she understood that she was in love with Himawari but…

"How did this happen?!"

Sakurako was currently lying in her bed in the fetal position, clutching her head with both hands and wondering just how she had ended up in such a situation.

"How can I be in love with Himawari? Just why? And how? Also, why did I have to fall in love with _her_ of all people?"

Sakurako continued to ramble on like crazy not sure just what she was supposed to do next. Did she even _have_ to do anything? At that moment, never leaving her room again seemed like a pretty good idea.

Sakurako suddenly sat up and snapped her fingers. "Yes! I'll just stay in here forever. That's the best way to deal with this!" Sakurako grinned widely but it didn't take long for her smile to falter. She hung her head and slapped her forehead. "Yeah, sure. As if I could actually do that…"

There was a knock on the door and Nadeshiko's voice came from the other side. "Sakurako. Himako's here to see you. Are you awake or are you sleeping?"

Sakurako's eyes widened in horror. _No way! I can't speak to Himawari right now! Maybe if I don't answer then nee-chan will think I'm sleeping and she'll go away. Then I –_

The door opened and Nadeshiko peeked in. "Sakurako? Oh, you're awake. Why didn't you answer?"

Sakurako's mouth opened and closed like a fish; the girl had no idea what to say. She inwardly cursed herself for not lying down and pretending to be asleep. _How am I supposed to escape now?!_

Nadeshiko fully opened the door and Himawari walked into the room. Sakurako immediately froze up but she realized that she didn't have much of a choice anymore. Nadeshiko furrowed her eyebrows noticing how stiff Sakurako seemed. "I'm leaving now. That's okay… Right?"

Sakurako looked at Nadeshiko with a desperate look in her eyes. Nadeshiko's eyebrows shot up. _Why does she look so scared? And the way she's looking at me is basically screaming 'don't leave me'._ Nadeshiko took a look at Himawari and became even more confused. _Himako seems normal so it doesn't seem like anything happened between them. What's wrong with Sakurako then?_

Nadeshiko looked at Sakurako and smiled softly at her. "I'll be in the living room. Call me if you need me, okay?"

Sakurako opened her mouth to say something but then closed it again deciding that it was pointless. She hung her head in resignation. "Okay, nee-chan…"

Himawari looked at Sakurako and then at Nadeshiko, not quite sure what was going on. _Why is Nadeshiko-san speaking like that? Also, since when is so gentle with Sakurako? Did something happen?_

Himawari watched as Nadeshiko left the room with a mysterious smile on her face. _Why is she smiling like that?_ Himawari shook her head. _Forget that. I have more important things to deal with._

Himawari spun around to look at Sakurako. "Why did you suddenly leave school like that, Sakurako? Is everything alright?"

Sakurako turned beet red much to her own dismay. _I can't believe just the sound of her voice is making me so nervous! This is ridiculous…_

"Sakurako?"

"It's n-nothing!" Sakurako said, in a voice much louder than she had intended. "I was b-bored. Th-That's why I l-left. I already t-told you th-that before, di-didn't I?"

 _Oh, great. Now I can't even speak properly._

Himawari frowned. "Why are you stammering so much? You look awfully red too." The bluenette walked over to the bed and placed her hand on Sakurako's forehead. "Do you have a fever?"

Sakurako let out a startled cry and jumped away from Himawari's touch, backing away until she hit the wall. Himawari looked at her in surprise. "Sa-Sakurako?"

"D-Don't touch me, you idiot! I'm fine so just leave!"

Himawari frowned, clearly offended. "I came to check up on you and you're telling me to leave. You're so rude sometimes, Sakurako!"

Sakurako felt a pang of guilt shoot through her when she saw the hurt on Himawari's face. She let out a shaky sigh and buried her face in her hands. "I'm sorry, Himawari…"

"What?" Himawari couldn't hide the surprise in her voice. _Is she actually apologizing?_

Sakurako dropped her hands and looked at her feet. "I said I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude. I just… I have something on my mind. I can't tell you what that something is right now so please don't ask. Just… Go back home and I'll come with my books within fifteen minutes. We'll do our homework together."

Sakurako looked at Himawari with a strangely sad look. "You'll help me with my homework, right?"

Himawari was too stunned to say anything. Eventually she nodded and walked out of the room, deciding that it was best to let Sakurako deal with whatever she was dealing with herself; Himawari wasn't going to interfere.

Sakurako watched Himawari leave and then leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. _It looks like I won't be able to argue with Himawari anymore either. I don't think I'll be able to stand it if she looks that hurt. I'm so screwed…_

* * *

Five days later, Sakurako felt immensely wiser about life. Throughout her life, Sakurako had heard two things about love. One, it was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Two, love hurt. Within five days, Sakurako had come to the conclusion that love most certainly was wonderful… It was a wonderful pain in the neck.

Sakurako agreed that love hurt. In her opinion, the people who thought that love was absolutely wonderful were either extremely lucky or completely delusional. Sakurako herself was going crazy. Just the sight of Himawari now turned her into a stuttering, bumbling mess and there was no doubt in her mind that Himawari thought that there was something seriously wrong with her.

Sakurako now had a new-found respect for Ayano. No wonder her purple haired senpai acted so strangely around Kyouko all this time. Now she felt that it was a miracle that Ayano had been able to speak to Kyouko at all. Sakurako herself basically went into panic mode whenever she was with Himawari nowadays. Her heart beat sped up, her stomach churned uncomfortably and she turned so red that more than once her friends had asked her whether she was coming down with a fever.

Unfortunately, Sakurako had no other option but to go to Himawari for help with her homework. She had tried to do it on her own but in vain. Also, if Sakurako suddenly stopped going to Himawari for help then it would be way too suspicious. She was sure that both her friends and family would question her to death so she continued to go to Himawari's house every evening. She did, however, concentrate fully and complete her homework within half an hour so that she could escape as soon as possible. Completing her homework so fast every day was probably the only good thing that had come out of the whole mess.

Sakurako knew that she wouldn't last much longer at this rate so she knew what she had to do. She would have to confess to Himawari and then she'd deal with whatever happened after that. She had no idea exactly how she'd deal with the aftermath but what she did know was that if she didn't confess, her heart would probably burst or something. She absolutely _had_ to confess.

The only problem was _how_.

Sakurako had briefly considered going to Kyouko for advice but had quickly dismissed the thought. Kyouko might have confessed to Ayano but she only did that because Sakurako pressured her into doing so. Also, Kyouko and Ayano were in a new relationship so Sakurako doubted that they'd be able to give her any sound advice.

Sakurako eventually decided to ask someone else for help. Someone she was very close to and could always rely on. Someone she knew would support her no matter what. Someone who was very calm and collected. Someone who Sakurako suspected was in a relationship herself.

Sakurako took a deep breath and walked into the kitchen. "Nee-chan, can I talk to you?"

* * *

Himawari was busy preparing dinner for herself and Kaede. As she chopped vegetables, her thoughts drifted to a certain someone and her extremely weird recent behavior.

 _I wonder what's wrong with Sakurako. She seems to be avoiding me. That idiot even manages to finish her homework so quickly nowadays and then she runs back home immediately. Normally, I can't get her to leave and now I can't get her to stay. I can't even talk to her._

Himawari dropped the chopped vegetables into the pot on the stove and then covered the pot to let the curry simmer. Walking over to the dining table, she took a seat. She stared at the wall and once again started pondering over Sakurako's recent behavior.

 _I don't understand why she's been so jumpy for the past few days. And she's always blushing like crazy. Honestly, what's up with her?_

A sudden thought struck Himawari and her eyes widened. _No, no! That's not possible, is it? But… She really does blush a lot nowadays so… No way. Does Sakurako have a crush on someone?!_

Himawari slumped onto the table and buried her head in her arms. She knew there was a good chance that she was wrong but nonetheless, she felt like crying. Just the mere thought that there was even a remote possibility that Sakurako had fallen for someone else was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

Himawari suddenly sat up straight and wiped her eyes. _No. I'm wrong. Sakurako can't possibly have a crush. I mean, who would she even fall for?_

Himawari had meant to console herself but unfortunately, her mind made it point to start overanalyzing in order to figure out who Sakurako could possibly fall for. _Akaza-san maybe? Sakurako seems to get along well with her. Or maybe Sakurako likes Yoshikawa-san. Wait… That doesn't seem right… Sakurako is pretty fond of Toshinou-senpai too so maybe that's who she has a crush on? But if that were true then why would Sakurako help Toshinou-senpai and Sugiura-senpai get together? Or maybe… Maybe Sakurako realized her feelings for Toshinou-senpai after she got together with Sugiura-senpai? Somehow, even that doesn't seem right…_

Himawari let out a loud groan. "Ugh… My head hurts. Sakurako, you idiot…"

* * *

 **Both Sakurako and Himawari are pretty troubled now. What will happen next?**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	12. Help Me, Nee-chan!

**This chapter heavily features Nadeshiko. In case you haven't read 'Oomuro-ke' yet, go and read it. That spin-off gives a lot of insight into the lives of Sakurako and her sisters. Some parts of this chapter might seem a little confusing if you don't read 'Oomuro-ke' but it's nothing too drastic.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to Namori.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter 12: Help Me, Nee-chan!**

* * *

At the sound of Sakurako's voice, Nadeshiko turned her head to look at Sakurako. She then turned back and resumed cutting vegetables. "Sure. What do you want to talk about?"

"Uh…" Sakurako looked around uncomfortably. "There's no one else at home, right?"

"No. Our parents won't be back until a few hours later and Hanako is spending the night at her friend Misaki's house. Apparently they have a joint project to work on. Didn't you already know that? Or did you forget?"

Sakurako shook her head. "I didn't forget. I was just confirming that no one's home because… Because I need to… I need to talk to you alone."

Nadeshiko looked over her shoulder to find her younger sister looking at the ground and shuffling her feet. _She seems pretty nervous. That's kind of rare for her._

Nadeshiko placed the knife on the counter and turned around fully. "Does this have an anything to do with how strange you've been acting these past few days?"

Sakurako looked up in surprise. "You think I've been acting strange? I thought I was behaving fine at home…"

Nadeshiko gave her an amused look. "You don't spend even an hour at Himako's house nowadays. That's strange enough."

Sakurako frowned. "Oh, come on. That's not too strange, is it?"

Nadeshiko smiled. "Even if I ignore that, you've been awfully quiet for a few days now. That most certainly worries me."

Sakurako opened her mouth to make a retort but closed it again realizing that she really couldn't say much to argue with that. Being so quiet really was unlike her. Of course Nadeshiko had noticed that something was amiss.

"So, what's bothering you? I'll try my best to help you."

Sakurako remembered what exactly it was that she was supposed to speak to Nadeshiko about and immediately, she felt her cheeks heat up. For a moment, she considered running away instead of revealing something so embarrassing to her older sister. _But if I don't tell her then…_

"Sakurako? Are you okay?"

"H-Huh? Yeah, I'm f-fine." Sakurako took in a deep breath and let it out. "What I wanted to talk to you about is… Well, recently I found out that… I mean, I think that I… No, I don't _think_ but I _know_ that I… Well…"

Nadeshiko's eyebrows shot up at the unusual sight of Sakurako getting reduced to a stammering, nervous mess. "Calm down, Sakurako. You can tell me what's wrong. I promise I won't tell anybody."

Sakurako looked up to find Nadeshiko looking at her with a tender, gentle expression on her face. Nadeshiko's loving gaze allowed Sakurako to calm down a bit and so she looked her sister straight in the eye. "Nee-chan, I'm in love with Himawari."

Nadeshiko's eyes widened slightly. _Did this idiot finally…?_ Nadeshiko cleared her throat. "By 'in love' you mean?"

"I mean that I love her romantically. What else is 'in love' supposed to mean?"

Nadeshiko stared at Sakurako in shock. "You… You actually figured it out?"

Sakurako's eyebrow twitched. "You don't have to look _that_ surprised. I mean, I know that it's weird that Himawari is the one that I fell for but–"

Nadeshiko shook her head. "No, no. It's not weird at all. Actually, it was pretty obvious."

Sakurako's mouth fell open. "Wh-What's that supposed to mean?"

"Trust me, Sakurako. You weren't fooling anyone but yourself. I'm not surprised that you're in love with Himako. It's just a shock that you finally realized it."

Sakurako glared at her sister. "So you're basically calling me stupid, nee-chan."

"I said nothing of the sort." Nadeshiko's mouth pulled up in a smirk. "But it _did_ take you awfully long to realize something so clearly obvious."

Sakurako's previous embarrassment was now gone. Instead, she was now rather irked at her sister's teasing. "Well, you know what, nee-chan? I'm not the only one who's obvious. You're pretty obvious too."

"What are you talking about?"

This time it was Sakurako's turn to smirk. "You have a girlfriend, don't you, nee-chan?"

Nadeshiko narrowed her eyes at Sakurako and the younger girl instantly flinched. She put her hands up in defense. "Don't beat me up but… You do have a girlfriend, right?"

"…"

"Nee-chan?"

"What makes you think I have a girlfriend?"

"Well… You talk with someone every single night. I think it's at the same time every night too. Also, I barged into your room at times when I forgot to knock and I accidentally heard some parts of your conversations. So I know that it's a girl you're talking to."

Nadeshiko blankly stared at Sakurako for a while before letting out a sigh of resignation. "Yes, you're correct. I have a girlfriend. Just don't ask me who she is. I can't tell you that; it's a secret."

Sakurako didn't really care about who Nadeshiko was dating. She was far too hung up on the revelation that she was _correct_. "Seriously? I guessed that correctly? I was worried I might be overanalyzing things and that you were actually just speaking to a friend. But I'm actually right! Jeez, I could have become the Student Council vice-president if I had been this sharp a few months ago."

Nadeshiko cleared her throat. "Sakurako, it's great that you're so sharp now. But make sure that you _never_ tell anybody about this. Or else…"

Sakurako took one look at Nadeshiko's terrifying glare and instinctively took a step backwards. "D-Don't worry, n-nee-chan! I promise I won't tell anyone."

Nadeshiko nodded. "Good. Now then, let's get back to your problem."

"My problem?"

Nadeshiko resisted the urge to slap her forehead. _How could she forget something so important?_ "You were telling me something about you falling madly in love with a certain someone. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah. That's what I came to talk to you about.." Sakurako turned beet red. "Hey! I never said that I was _madly_ in love!"

Nadeshiko snickered. "You're so easy to tease."

Sakurako pouted. "I came to you to ask for help, nee-chan. Stop making fun of me…"

"Sure, sure. What help do you need?"

Sakurako averted her eyes. "I need to confess to that idiot Himawari and I have no idea how to do it. I need your help."

Nadeshiko raised an eyebrow. _She's still calling Himako an idiot?_ "So you want to confess, huh? Did you think this through properly? What are you going to do if she rejects you?"

"If she rejects me then…" Sakurako looked up at Nadeshiko with fierce determination in her eyes. "I fought against Himawari all these years but if she rejects me, then I'll fight _for_ her."

Nadeshiko smirked. _There's no way Himako's going to reject you but I wanted to see your reaction. Good. It seems that you're ready._ "Okay, Sakurako. I'll help you out. You can count on me."

Smiling, Sakurako bowed. "I'll be in your care."

Nadeshiko walked over to Sakurako and pushed her back into standing position. Then she gathered her younger sister in her arms and hugged her tight. Sakurako looked up in surprise. "N-Nee-chan?"

"You've finally grown up, little sis."

Sakurako didn't respond and simply enjoyed her older sister's embrace. She knew that Nadeshiko loved her but getting a hug from the older girl was rare. She honestly couldn't remember the last time they had hugged.

Nadeshiko pulled away and looked at Sakurako. "Okay. Lesson number one. When you confess, make sure not to call Himako an idiot."

* * *

 **In case you don't know, Misaki is not an OC. She's an actual character in 'Oomuro-ke'. Based on her interactions with Hanako I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ship them so you're free to take their sleepover however you want. Just keep your mind out of the gutter since they're only eight years old.**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	13. Dinner Date

**Sakurako is finally going to do it! Will she succeed in this monstrous task? Read on to find out.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The Council of Change**

 **Chapter 13: Dinner Date**

* * *

It was Friday night and Sakurako had a huge task to complete. She was going to confess to Himawari.

She had approached Nadeshiko for help two days ago and Sakurako now felt that going to her older sister for help was the best decision she had made in a long time. Nadeshiko had actually spent a few hours talking with Sakurako, planning the confession and explaining what to do and what not to do.

" _Listen, Sakurako. You have to remember one thing. No matter how embarrassed you feel, do_ not _fight with Himako. Do you understand? No fighting. You have to avoid arguing with her at all costs."_

" _Ugh… I understand, nee-chan. You told me this at least ten times already. You don't need to remind me anymore!"_

Sakurako sighed as she remembered her sister's advice. She really wasn't going to argue with Himawari. In all honesty, she knew that if she felt embarrassed then she'd probably just freeze up. Before she knew about her feelings she used to fight out of frustration. But the situation was different now. There was no frustration. Everything was crystal clear to her.

Now it was just a matter of making everything clear to Himawari.

Sakurako was currently in her kitchen heating up the curry she had cooked an hour before. As per her sister's plan, Sakurako had invited Himawari to dinner and the bluenette would be arriving soon. Nadeshiko ensured that the two would have the entire house to themselves. Their parents were away on a trip so they wouldn't create any problems. All Nadeshiko had to do was make sure that she and Hanako were not at home when Sakurako confessed to Himawari. That wasn't too difficult to arrange; Nadeshiko simply took Hanako to her friend's house. Hanako was naturally confused but Nadeshiko had explained that she had told her friend so much about her sisters that she now wanted to meet them. She'd take Hanako now and her friend could meet Sakurako later. This was obviously a lie. But Hanako, who didn't know anything about Nadeshiko and Sakurako's plans, didn't suspect anything and agreed to go to Nadeshiko's friend's house.

Sakurako suspected that this wasn't just some friend. She was pretty sure that her older sister had gone to her girlfriend's house but she was too scared to even try to bring up her suspicions in front of Nadeshiko. Sakurako had rather quickly found out that Nadeshiko could become absolutely terrifying in order to keep her girlfriend's identity a secret. Sakurako knew it was best to keep her mouth shut.

Nadeshiko and Hanako had left a little over an hour before. Before leaving, Nadeshiko had even helped Sakurako make the curry. Sakurako did most of the work herself but Nadeshiko didn't trust her enough to leave her alone in the kitchen.

" _Okay, Sakurako. The curry is finished. All you have to do is make some rice and heat the curry when Himako comes over. You'll be able to do that, right?"_

 _Sakurako groaned. "Nee-chan, if you really think I can't make some rice then why don't you make it for me? That might_ _put you at ease…"_

" _I would have helped you with the rice_ _too but reheating rice is troublesome." Nadeshiko furrowed her eyebrows and a thoughtful look_ _came over her face_ _._ _"Maybe I should stay a bit longer and leave later. Then I can help you out with the rice and leave_ _ten to fifteen minutes_ _before Himako gets here."_

 _Sakurako slapped her forehead. "Oh, stop it! I'm capable of making rice in a rice cooker. So you can leave now, nee-chan. You don't have to stay."_

 _Nadeshiko stared at Sakurako not entirely convinced. Sakurako let out a sigh. "I'm a lot more mature now, nee-chan. I can handle this."_

 _Nadeshiko grinned broadly. "Yes, you most certainly are more mature now. You're finally confessing to Himako, after all. You've grown up so much!"_

 _Before Sakurako could say anything in response to her older sister's_ _rather_ _uncharacteristic elation, Nadeshiko walked over to her and_ _pulled_ _the younger girl_ _into_ _a bear hug. "I'm really happy for you two. I've been wondering for ages when you two would get together so I'm glad it's finally happening. Just don't mess things up, okay?"_

" _I'll do my best…" Sakurako murmured. "But we're not together yet. I have no idea how Himawari is going to react. If she rejects me, I'm going to call you and I want you to come back home as soon as possible."_

 _Nadeshiko pulled away to look at Sakurako with a gentle smile on her face. "Sure thing, Sakurako. I'll come back home as soon as I can in that case. But I'm sure that won't be necessary. Don't worry. Things are going to work out just fine. Trust me."_

" _I don't know…"_

 _Hanako walked into the kitchen and raised an eyebrow at the scene before her. "What's with you two? You guys_ _have_ _been acting really strange for the past few days."_

 _Nadeshiko let go of Sakurako and walking over to Hanako, placed a hand on Hanako's head. "You'll find out when the time is right. Let's go to my friend's house now, shall we?"_

 _Hanako didn't want to argue with Nadeshiko so she simply nodded and walked out of the room. Nadeshiko turned her head to look at Sakurako and smiled. "Best of luck, Sakurako!"_

Sakurako turned off the rice cooker and took a deep breath. She slowly let it out but somehow, instead of calming down, Sakurako felt even more nervous than before. _Himawari is going to arrive any moment now. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?!_

The doorbell rang and Sakurako's heart started pounding furiously against her ribcage. She shook her head to clear her head and took in a few deep breaths, willing herself to calm down. It barely worked but when the doorbell rang again, Sakurako knew that there was no escape. She walked out of the kitchen and headed towards the front door. She stood still for a few moments and then, with a huge smile on her face, she opened the door.

"Hey, Himawari! You're finally here!"

Himawari blinked, surprised by Sakurako's unusually usual behavior. _She's been acting so strange recently but now she's acting like her usual self. I can't believe she's so energetic right now. It's as if nothing is wrong._

In reality, however, Sakurako was putting in a great amount of effort to appear normal. She knew that she'd have to at least _try_ to act normal or her confession would be doomed from the start. "Come on in, Himawari."

Himawari smiled and nodded. She walked into the house and followed Sakurako into the kitchen. Sakurako pointed towards the curry and rice on the table and turned to face Himawari. "The food is ready so let's eat now."

Himawari slowly nodded. "Sure. But, Sakurako… Why exactly did you invite me? You never told me why."

Sakurako scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "Uh… Well… I'm pretty sure you noticed that I've been acting a bit weird for the past few days. I'm planning on telling you the reason for that today."

Himawari's eyes widened. "Really?"

Sakurako nodded. "Yes. Also, we haven't talked properly in a while so I was thinking that we could chat a bit tonight."

"Oh. Well, that's…nice." _A bit too nice, to be honest._ Himawari looked around. "Um, isn't anybody home?"

"Nope. My sisters won't be back until ten and my parents are away on a trip."

Himawari wasn't quite sure how to react. _This whole set-up seems to be quite elaborate. I guess I'll just have to wait and see what this is all about. I'll get to spend some time with this idiot though so I really shouldn't be complaining._ Himawari smiled. "Okay, then, Sakurako. Let's have dinner."

Himawari sat at the table and Sakurako carefully served the food. She still wasn't as good as Himawari when it came to stuff like that so she figured it was best to take her time. Sakurako then sat down and the two had dinner together. They talked liked they always used to and for a while, both Himawari and Sakurako forgot that anything had ever happened.

After they finished their meal, Sakurako grabbed the plates and put them in the sink. Himawari watched in slight amusement as Sakurako proceeded to do the dishes. "I thought you were going to leave those for Nadeshiko-san to do. It's great that you're doing the dishes yourself."

Sakurako glared at Himawari. "Hey. I'm not as bad as you think. Why would I leave these for nee-chan?" Sakurako then imagined what would happen if she actually did leave the dirty dishes in the sink and laughed. "Seriously, nee-chan would just smack me on the head and make me wash them anyway if I actually did something like that so it would be pointless."

Himawari giggled. "True. Nadeshiko-san knows how to handle you."

The sound of Himawari's laughter made Sakurako feel strangely happy. _You're going to be the death of me, Himawari…_

"I don't want this to go to your head but I have to say that the curry was really tasty. Good job, Sakurako."

Sakurako turned her head and gave Himawari a toothy smile. "Thanks, Himawari!"

Himawari turned slightly red and Sakurako quickly turned to the face the sink again so that Himawari wouldn't see that she was blushing too. The two stayed silent until Sakurako was done with the dishes, both feeling a little embarrassed and awkward. After Sakurako dried her hands, she turned to face Himawari. "Uh… So I guess I should tell you what I wanted to tell you…"

Himawari suddenly felt nervous. "Oh? Y-Yes. Go ahead." _I wonder what she wants to tell me. To think that she invited me over to dinner just to tell me something. How important is that something then?_

Sakurako was nervous too but she was working according to Nadeshiko's plan so she didn't feel too panicky. She remembered her sister's words of advice.

" _Setting the mood is important, Sakurako. So after dinner, take_ _Himako_ _to the living room or to your room and confess to her there. Just don't confess in the kitchen, okay?"_

Sakurako decided that going to the living room would be too risky. She knew that her sisters wouldn't be back until after another two hours but she still thought that the privacy of her own room would be comforting.

"Let's go to my room, Himawari. We'll talk there."

Himawari furrowed her eyebrows. _We have to go to your room? Just what do you intend to tell me, Sakurako?_

Himawari didn't protest though and she made her way towards Sakurako's room. Sakurako followed her with a look of determination in her eyes. _So now it begins…_

* * *

 **Sorry for ending this chapter here but I couldn't possibly write any more in one chapter. The next chapter is going to be a fun one, isn't it?**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	14. The Tsunderes' True Feelings

**I'm a bit late with this chapter. Sorry about that but there really wasn't much I could do about it. Two days after I posted the last chapter, a wall fan fell on my head while I was attending classes at my university. Yeah, you read that right. A fan fell on my head. Fortunately, there was no blood or anything but it still hurt. Also, I had to go show a doctor and get a CT scan and all that. Long story short, I didn't get anything done that week. That's why I couldn't post this chapter earlier.**

 **Be happy though. The chapter you all have been waiting for is finally here!** **I hope you guys enjoy, my friends.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The Council of Change  
**

 **Chapter 14:** **The Tsunderes' True Feelings**

* * *

Himawari watched as Sakurako closed the door to her room. _I thought that nobody was home. Then why does she have to close the door?_

Sakurako turned around to face Himawari and gave her an awkward smile. "So I guess that I… should tell you… what's been bothering me lately."

Himawari simply nodded and looked at Sakurako, waiting for her to start speaking. Sakurako bit her lip, acutely aware of how her heart was racing. _Calm down, Sakurako! You can do this!_

Sakurako gulped. _It's now or never._ "W-Well. I think you've noticed how jittery I've been lately. And you also probably noticed how much I've been… blushing."

Himawari's eyes widened slightly. _She's admitting that she's been blushing? I have a bad feeling about this…_

Sakurako averted her eyes and looked at the floor, deciding that staring at Himawari wasn't making confessing any easier. "The reason for this is that… I recently realized something. I finally realized my own feelings…"

Sakurako closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm in love."

" _Listen, Sakurako. If you suddenly tell Himako that you love her, she might think that you're playing a prank on her. Or she'll have a heart attack. So it's better to slowly_ _ease into the_ _confession. First tell her that you're in love with someone. Give her some time to digest that. Then tell her that that someone is her."_

Sakurako mentally thanked Nadeshiko for her advice. If she suddenly told Himawari that she was in love with her, then Sakurako was sure that _she_ would be the one having a heart attack and not Himawari. This method was better for her own sanity. Unfortunately, Himawari wasn't saying anything in response and her silence was killing Sakurako. Maybe she was going to have that heart attack after all.

"W-What did you say?" the stunned bluenette finally stuttered. "Y-You're in l-love with someone?"

Sakurako opened her eyes but didn't dare to look up at Himawari. "I know this sounds strange since this is _me_ we're talking about but… But I've thought about this a lot and I'm sure of my feelings! I've fallen in love and –"

As Sakurako finally looked up to meet Himawari's eyes, she was stunned into silence as she took in the sight before her. Tears were streaming down the bluenette's face and her _eyes_ … Why was there so much pain in her eyes?

Sakurako's heart clenched at the sight and a pained frown appeared on her face. As nerve wracking as the whole matter of confessing was, this was supposed to be a happy moment. Then why, Sakurako wondered, was Himawari crying?

"Himawari? What's wrong? I don't think I said anything to make you cry, did I?"

Himawari shook her head fiercely and wiped away her tears. "No, you didn't say anything wrong." Himawari sniffled. "I just… I just…"

The bluenette's voice cracked and once again, tears cascaded down her cheeks. This time, however, Himawari couldn't stop the tears from falling and she quickly gave up on even trying. Instead, she buried her face in her hands and sobbed uncontrollably much to Sakurako's dismay and utter confusion.

Sakurako simply stared at Himawari completely unsure as to what to do. It hurt her to see Himawari's shaking form. It hurt her to hear Himawari's heartbreaking sobs. Sakurako briefly considered wrapping her childhood friend in a tight embrace but she stayed rooted to the spot. Sakurako didn't think that hugging the bluenette was the best idea since she felt that it was possible that she was the reason for Himawari's sudden tears.

 _But what did I do? I don't think I said anything wrong. Honestly though, I can't believe there's_ anything _I could possibly say to make her cry like this._

Sakurako eventually took a few tentative steps forward. "Himawari? What's wrong?"

Himawari didn't remove her hands from her face. "I'm s-sorry, Sakurako…"

"Huh? Why?"

"Because… You were trying… to tell me something and I… I…"

Sakurako furrowed her eyebrows. First of all, she had no idea what was happening. Secondly, Himawari's hands were covering her face so her voice was muffled. Also, Himawari was saying whatever she was saying in between her sobs. The end result? Sakurako was more confused than she had ever been.

Himawari brought her hands down from her face and tried to wipe her tears away. Unfortunately, fresh tears quickly replaced them. "Actually, Sakurako… It's great that you've… that you've fallen… in love. I'm very… happy for you."

The way Himawari's face scrunched up as she said the last part made it hard for Sakurako to believe that the bluenette was _happy_. Sakurako winced. _I don't think I've ever seen you this upset in my entire life, Himawari. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?_

Himawari sniffled. "It's just that… The fact that you fell in love with someone else just hurts so much!"

Sakurako stared at Himawari, surprised by her sudden outburst. "Uhh… What do you mean by it hurts? Didn't you just say that you were happy for me?"

Himawari balled her hands into fists. "I _am_ happy for you! It's just that I… I… I love you, Sakurako! That's why it hurts!"

"…I'm sorry, what?"

Himawari's fists loosened. Staring at the ground, she said softly, "I love you, Sakurako. I'm in love with you."

Sakurako blinked. Then her mouth fell open. She gaped at Himawari who was currently trying hard not to blush but was failing miserably. As Himawari's words spun around in Sakurako's head, her brain slowly registered exactly what the girl had said and soon Sakurako was blushing brightly too.

"Y-You mean that _you_ love _me_? But that's… I mean…" Sakurako's embarrassment quickly turned to anger. "Argh! Why did you have to say that, Himawari? You ruined my entire plan!"

"Huh? Wh-What plan?"

"My plan! The one I've been agonizing over for the past few days!"

Himawari simply stared at the seething Sakurako unsure as to why the girl was fuming. She shrank under Sakurako's glare, noticing how she was gritting her teeth. "Sa-Sakurako. I understand that you love someone else and so hearing me say that I love you must be annoying to you. But you really don't have to be so mad, you know?"

Sakurako's eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean by 'someone else'? Why do you keep saying that? Just when did I say that I loved someone else? Aren't you supposed to be the more mature one out of the two of us? Then why on Earth are you jumping to conclusions like that?"

Himawari wasn't sure how to react to Sakurako's sudden barrage of questions so she simply stared at her childhood friend, trying to decipher the meaning behind her words. As smart as Himawari was, she couldn't figure out what Sakurako was talking about.

Sakurako hadn't finished speaking though.

"I'm not in love with _someone else_. I'm in love with _you_ , you moron!"

There was a long pause. Then Himawari's eyes became as wide as saucers.

"Oh, darn. I promised nee-chan I wouldn't call you an idiot today. Sorry about that."

Himawari shook her head, her eyes closed. "No, no. That doesn't matter." Himawari looked at Sakurako, thoroughly confused. "What matters is that… You love _me_?"

Sakurako simply nodded. All the yelling had caused her embarrassment to vanish in its entirety.

Himawari blinked. "Really? Even though we're rivals?"

"We're not rivals anymore. You're the vice-president, remember?"

"But… But you always call me names."

"I don't think I've called you names in the past few _months_. I have called you an idiot, however. But to be fair, you always call me an idiot too."

"But we fight all the time too!"

Sakurako raised an eyebrow. "You do realize that the fighting applies to you too, right? We fight all the time and yet you say that you love me. Then why can't I love you?"

"So… You really love me?"

Sakurako smiled softly. "Yes."

"Oh." Tears welled up in Himawari's eyes. "That's…"

Sakurako's eyebrow twitched as Himawari started crying again. "Hey! I said something nice, didn't I? Then why are you crying now?"

"Because I'm… so happy!" Himawari sobbed. "These are happy tears."

Sakurako walked over to the sobbing bluenette and lightly wrapped her hands around her. Himawari buried her face in the crook of Sakurako's neck and hugged her tightly. Himawari's tight grip made Sakurako blush but it also gave her the courage to hold Himawari a little tighter.

"You're hopeless, you know? I don't think I've ever seen you cry this much."

"I'm sorry," Himawari mumbled. "This is just a bit overwhelming."

"Hmm." Sakurako could feel her cheeks grow hotter. _Overwhelming, huh? It sure doesn't seem like it with how strong your grip on me is…_

"Sakurako?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Are we girlfriends now?"

"…Yes. I suppose we are."

"That's nice… Are we supposed to kiss now?"

Sakurako turned beet red. _Since when is Himawari so bold?!_ Sakurako coughed. "Maybe we should. But with how much you're sniffling, I don't think I want to kiss you right now."

Himawari chuckled."Yeah. That seems fair."

There was a moment of silence and then suddenly, Sakurako pulled away. Before Himawari could figure out what was happening, Sakurako kissed Himawari on the cheek and then looked away, her cheeks tinted a rosy color.

"That's as much as you'll get right now."

Himawari wiped her tears and smiled. "Thank you, Sakurako." She gave Sakurako a peck on her cheek. "And that's your reward."

"Wh-What are you talking about? I don't need a reward! No, not the great Sakurak-sa… Oh, forget it."

Sakurako's shoulders slumped and she hung her head. Himawari laughed. "You're so silly, Sakurako."

Sakurako looked up at Himawari and glared at her. "So _I'm_ silly, huh? What about you? If I had known that I could make you cry so much so easily then I would have confessed to you ages ago," she said jokingly.

Himawari cocked an eyebrow at Sakurako. "Oh, really? Didn't you say that you realized your feelings only recently?"

"Oh, yeah. That's right. Never mind then."

Himawari burst out laughing and soon Sakurako joined in too. At long last, the two were girlfriends and they were both happier than they had been in quite a long time.

Sakurako grinned. _Nee-chan is going to be so happy!_

* * *

 **All's well that ends well, right? Sakurako and Himawari are finally together! That really was a long journey, wasn't it?**

 **I suppose that this chapter seems like the final one. However, worry not, everybody! There's going to be one last chapter after this to wrap everything up. Look forward to it!**

 **Read** **and review** **, everyone!** **Reviews truly do make my day.**


	15. Together At Last

**Here you go, guys. This is the final chapter. Are you sad? I know that I am. Even though this story has been taking up a lot of my time and I really needed to finish this since my exams are coming up I still can't help but be a bit upset that it's over.**

 **Well, I hope you enjoy this last chapter. I have a lot more to say but I'm going to say it after the chapter. Please enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own YuruYuri. It belongs to** **Namori** **.**

* * *

 **The** **Council of Change**

 **Chapter 15: Together At Last  
**

* * *

Nadeshiko and Hanako returned home at ten as planned. As Nadeshiko entered the house, she looked around cautiously. Sakurako hadn't called her so she assumed that everything had gone well. However, there was also the chance that something had gone terribly wrong and Sakurako was currently crying in her room. When Nadeshiko found nobody downstairs, she carefully made her way up the stairs to look for her younger sister.

As she neared Sakurako's room, the sound of laughter coming from inside brought a soft smile to Nadeshiko's face. _It seems like everything went well._

Nadeshiko turned to look at Hanako who was staring at her, confusion written on her face. Nadeshiko motioned for Hanako to come to her. "Let's go and talk to Sakurako. I'm sure she has something she wants to tell us."

Hanako wasn't sure what was going on but she did as Nadeshiko told. Nadeshiko knocked on the door, opened it and the two of them walked in to find Sakurako and Himawari sitting on the bed and chatting animatedly. Hanako blinked. "Hima-nee? What are you doing here now? It's so late."

Sakurako and Himawari looked at each other and smiled. Then Sakurako jumped off the bed and ran towards Nadeshiko. The force of the collision nearly sent both sisters toppling to the ground but Nadeshiko somehow managed to keep them both standing. With her arms wrapped around her older sister's torso, Sakurako looked up at Nadeshiko with possibly the brightest grin Nadeshiko had ever seen on the younger girl's face in her life.

"She said 'yes', nee-chan!"

Nadeshiko grinned and ruffled Sakurako's hair. "I told you that she wouldn't reject you, didn't I?"

Sakurako gave Nadeshiko a toothy smile. Nadeshiko chuckled. "It's good to see you so happy again, Sakurako."

"Um… Could somebody please tell me what's going on?"

Everyone turned to look at Hanako who was clearly puzzled. Nadeshiko smirked. "Sakurako has finally grown up. That's what's going on."

Hanako drew her eyebrows together. "…What?"

Sakurako walked over to Himawari who was now standing near the bed and held her hand. With a smile she turned to look at her younger sister. "Himawari and I are girlfriends now!"

Hanako's jaw promptly dropped to the floor.

Sakurako proceeded to explain everything that had happened in the past few days and how Nadeshiko had helped her plan everything. She described everything that had happened that evening and by the end of her story, Hanako was smiling too.

"I knew you and onee-chan were acting weird. So that's why. Well, congratulations, Sakurako! This is really good news."

Sakurako nodded happily. "It really is good! But, Hanako. Aren't you surprised?"

"Not really. This was bound to happen someday. It was obvious that you two have feelings for each other."

Sakurako frowned. "It couldn't have possibly been _that_ obvious."

Hanako shrugged. "Except that it was. I mean, even Kaede knows."

Himawari blushed. "Oh, right. I have to tell Kaede…"

Sakurako looked at Nadeshiko who was strangely quiet. "Nee-chan? What's wrong?"

Nadeshiko didn't reply. Instead, she walked over to Himawari and bowed before her.

"Na-Nadeshiko-san?!"

"Please forgive me, Himako. It's because I told Sakurako not to confess to you at once that you had to go through so much pain and ended up crying. I'm extremely sorry. I should have known that hearing Sakurako say that she was in love with someone would cause you to misunderstand. Please forgive me!"

"I-It's okay, Nadeshiko-san. Really! After all, if it wasn't for your help then Sakurako and I wouldn't be together now. So please raise your head!"

* * *

Sakurako and Himawari spent the weekend trying to get used to the fact that they were now dating. Another thing that they had to try to get used to was their sisters' relentless teasing. Kaede didn't actually tease them but the way she giggled whenever the two were together was enough to make both tsunderes blush really hard. _Really_ hard.

Sakurako was used to Hanako being more or less condescending. But now, all of a sudden, Sakurako found Hanako always looking up at her with some weird sort of _admiration_ in her eyes. It was as if having a girlfriend suddenly made her seem more mature in Hanako's eyes and thus a better older sister. And to tell the truth, it simply freaked Sakurako out.

It also didn't help that both Hanako and Nadeshiko were both extremely interested in her love life. Sakurako and Himawari had gone on only one date and both of Sakurako's sisters had essentially interrogated the poor girl the moment she stepped into the house. Sakurako was tempted to tell Hanako that Nadeshiko had a girlfriend too so that she wouldn't be the center of attention anymore. Unfortunately, Sakurako knew she couldn't do that without getting killed by Nadeshiko so she had to keep her mouth shut about the matter.

The end result was that by the time Monday came around, Sakurako was actually scared of the prospect of having to tell the news to all of their friends. Himawari assured her that everything would be okay since Kyouko and Ayano had revealed their relationship and nobody was bothering them.

Sakurako remained skeptical though.

Throughout the day, Sakurako and Himawari tried their best to act normal. Akari and Chinatsu didn't realize anything. After classes were over, Sakurako told the two to bring the other two members of the Amusement Club to the Student Council room since she had an announcement to make.

Chinatsu raised an eyebrow. "An announcement? You're sounding like Kyouko-senpai…"

Akari grabbed Chinatsu's hand and pulled her away. "Don't worry, Sakurako-chan. We'll all come to the Council room as soon as possible."

Sakurako forced a smile. "Yeah, come soon…" _Toshinou-senpai… How is she going to react? I get the feeling that she's going to tease me to death._

No more than ten minutes later, the Amusement Club members and all the Student Council members were assembled in the Council room. Himawari and Sakurako stood in front of the president's desk ready to make their announcement.

Sakurako opened her mouth to speak but her mind went blank and she turned crimson as she remembered everything that had happened. Just what was she supposed to tell her friends? That she was in love with Himawari? Saying that to Himawari was one thing but making her feelings public was a bit much. The whole matter was just too embarrassing!

Himawari soon realized that her girlfriend wouldn't be able to start speaking anytime soon. So she took matters into her own hands. "Everyone, there's an announcement that me and Sakurako would like to make." Himawari smiled brightly. "The two of us are now dating!"

Sakurako's head snapped in Himawari's direction. _Why would you say that so suddenly?! Everyone is going to freak out now!_

Sakurako was wrong though. Her friends didn't freak out. Instead, they all smiled at each other knowingly. Kyouko grinned at Sakurako with a _very_ smug look on her face.

Chinatsu smirked. "It's about time!"

Akari nodded in agreement. "It's great that you two are finally together."

"I was beginning to think I'd never get to see this day." Yui chuckled. "I'm happy for you two."

Ayano smiled. "Congratulations, you two."

Chitose clasped her hands together. "Oh, this is perfect! Not only are Ayano-chan and Toshinou-san together but now you two are dating too. This is great!"

Sakurako gaped at her friends."What's with the mild reaction? Aren't you guys surprised?"

Everyone shook their heads. Chinatsu shrugged. "This was bound to happen eventually. Why would we be surprised?"

Sakurako stared at her friends for a while before throwing her hands up in the air. "Oh, I give up. Apparently my feelings were obvious to _everyone_. Everyone but myself, I guess. Seriously…"

Himawari giggled. "Don't pout, Sakurako. It's okay. Though you do look cute when you're pouting…"

Sakurako's cheeks heated up. "Oh, come on!"

Kyouko bounded up to Sakurako and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Seriously though, Sakucchan. You really shouldn't be pouting. After all, you're finally dating the love of your life."

"Love of my li– Toshinou-senpai!"

"Also, this is great news for me. Now we can go on double dates! Just think about it, Sakucchan. Me and you along with our wonderful girlfriends. The possibilities are endless!"

"Uh… That might actually be nice…"

"Not just nice. Absolutely splendid! The four of us could go to cafés together or we could go to an amusement park. Or maybe we could all go and watch a Mirakurun movie together."

"Toshinou Kyouko, stop bothering Oomuro-san."

"Oh? Are you jealous, Aya-chan?"

"Trust me. I am not."

"Don't worry, Ayano. I've got everything planned out. You can cosplay as Mirakurun and Himacchan can cosplay as Rivarun. Everyone in the movie theatre will look at us with envy!"

"Toshinou Kyouko…"

"Okay, okay. Forget about the movie. How about the four us just book a hotel room and spend the night together?"

Sakurako promptly fainted.

"Toshinou Kyouko!"

"What? I was just joking!"

* * *

Two weeks later, the Student Council members were swamped with work due to the upcoming cultural festival. It wasn't much of a problem though. Ayano, who was no longer a distracted mess, skillfully handled a huge portion of the work on her own. Also, Sakurako and Himawari were now quite efficient since they didn't really argue anymore. Well, they did bicker occasionally but it was never anything serious.

In all honesty, the only problem was Chitose. She worked hard but there were times when she spaced out and got lost in her fantasies. Now she fantasized about Himawari and Sakurako too so naturally, nosebleeds became a common occurrence. Also, the Council members had to keep a very close eye on Chitose so that she didn't end up bleeding to death.

At the current moment, however, Chitose was the one observing Sakurako with a soft smile. "You've become so diligent, Oomuro-san. At this rate, you really might end up as the Student Council president next year."

Sakurako laughed. "Thanks but no thanks, Ikeda-senpai."

Chitose furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean? Don't you want to be president anymore?"

Himawari looked up from her work and eyed Sakurako curiously. Sakurako smiled at Chitose and shook her head. "No. I don't want to be president anymore."

The conversation caught Ayano's attention as well. "Really, Oomuro-san? Didn't you always want to become the president?"

"I used to want that," Sakurako admitted. "But I only wanted to be the president because I didn't want Himawari to beat me. But things are different now. Himawari isn't my rival anymore." Sakurako chuckled. "I'm not looking for an excuse to fight her anymore."

Sakurako looked at Himawari and smiled softly at her. "I'm going to help Himawari campaign next year. I'm going to help her win the election."

Himawari's eyes widened. "You don't have to do that, Sakurako. I'm not going to hold it against you if you decide to become a candidate too, you know?"

Sakurako nodded. "I know. But I'm not backing down because I don't want to upset you. I'm backing down because I want to support you."

Himawari smiled. "Thank you, Sakurako."

"Also… We both know that you'd make a better president than me."

Himawari laughed. "Well, as long as I have you supporting me then I'm sure I'll do fine."

Sakurako grinned. "Of course you'll do fine. After all, we make a great team, don't we?"

* * *

 **And the journey finally ends.** **I just had to end the story with a scene in the Student Council room since the Council room is where this story began.** **I truly hope that you all enjoyed the ride. Now if you have the patience to read my long author's note, please do.**

 **First of all, about Kyouko and the whole booking a hotel room thing… Yeah, I have no idea where that came from. Seriously. It just popped into my mind and I couldn't** _ **not**_ **write it. Kyouko really was just joking though. They're all just in middle school so they wouldn't actually do the stuff Sakurako started imagining. Poor Sakurako though. I'm sorry that I made you faint in the very last chapter, Sakurako. I truly am.**

 **Now for the more serious stuff. I honestly find it hard to believe that this entire story was caused due to** _ **Yuri no Tenshi**_ **being inspired by a 100 word drabble of mine. Seriously. I never thought that 100 words could end up inspiring a multi-chapter story.** _ **Yuri no Tenshi**_ **'s original idea was probably quite different though and I'm pretty sure this story didn't turn out the way he had originally expected it to. However, I hope that** _ **Yuri no Tenshi**_ **enjoyed what I did with the story** **regardless** **. Surprises are a good thing, right?**

 **Now it's not like I wrote this story only for** _ **Yuri no Tenshi**_ **. I wrote this story for all of you readers. Thank you very much for your continued support over the past eight to nine months. I sincerely appreciate it. I received a much better response than I had hoped for so thank you, everyone.**

 **This story is my first true multi-chapter story. I did write two multi-chapter stories in the past but that was when I was a lot younger. Those two stories are actually shorter than my later oneshots so it's hard to actually consider them as multi-chapter stories. Because of this, 'The Council of Change' is quite** **close to my heart. Thank you to everyone who** **read this story and made it such a success.**

 **Last but not least, please leave a review! It's the very last review you'll be able to leave for this story, after all. So please tell me what you think of the story as a whole.**

 **Bye, everybody! Hopefully, I'll be back with a new story soon!**


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